-Ucuh 


f^f''4'5^????C^^?J^'^^;: 


•■on 


pf'^f'.^^^id  R.  1848-1931  1 
Preparing  to  preach  ^^'\ 


Preparing  to  Preach 


v 


0^ 


OF  m 


BY 


*      DEC  1  lie 


DAVID  R.  BREED,  D.  D. 


A 


'tiio 


PROFESSOR   OF   HOMILKTICS   IN   WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY, 
PITTSBURGH,    PA. 


e/CAL  ID 


HODDER  &  STOUGHTON 

NEW  YORK 

GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


Copyright,  191  i, 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


PREFACE 


This  volume  is  not  intended  as  a  comprehensive  treat- 
ment of  the  subject  of  homiletics,  and  much  is  necessarily 
omitted  which  should  be  considered  by  those  who  are 
"preparing  to  preach."  I  have  endeavored,  however,  to 
cover  the  ground  which  is  traversed  in  the  preparation 
and  delivery  of  the  ordinary  sermon — the  staple  of  the 
preacher's  pulpit  work. 

I  have  profited  by  certain  criticisms  which  intelligent 
Christian  laymen  sometimes  pass  upon  the  methods  and 
manners  of  certain  preachers  and  have  included  some  sug- 
gestions which  are  generally  omitted  from  similar  publi- 
cations, such  as  those  which  will  be  found  under  "The 
Attack  Upon  the  Text,"  "Pulpit  Manners,"  and  elsewhere. 

It  is  my  sincere  prayer  that  the  book  may  be  helpful 
to  my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  especially  to  those  for 
whose  sake  it  has  been  more  particularly  prepared,  as 
indicated  in  the  title. 

David  R.  Br^^d. 


INTRODUCTORY: 
THE  ESSENTIAL  ELEMENT 


INTRODUCTORY:    THE  ESSENTIAL  ELEMENT. 

The  essential  element  is  the  prophetic. 
The  nature  of  phophecy. 
The  true  sermon  defined. 
The  exact  form  changes  with  the  age. 

I.  The  message. 

Derived  from  the  Word  of  God. 

Spiritual  interpretation. 

Study  indispensable. 

Fidelity  the  paramount  condition. 

II.  The  man. 

Possessed  by  the  message. 
Dangers  of  mere  professionalism. 
The  true  preacher  a  "Seer." 


Read  Behrend's  "  Philosophy  of  Preaching,"  I  and  II;  Shedd's  "Homiletic 
and  Pastoral  Theology,"  Chap.  I;  Horton's  "Verbum  Dei,"  I<ect.  I; 
Jefferson's  "  The  Minister  as  Prophet." 


INTRODUCTORY:    THE  ESSENTIAL  ELEMENT. 

The  essential  element  in  preaching  is  the  prophetic  "^ 
element.     Within  the  Scriptural  meaning  of  these  terms 
the  preacher  is  a  prophet.     He  bears  a  message  from  the 
Most  High  God.     He  speaks  with  divine  authority. 

In  this  respect  the  fundamental  principles  of  homi- 
letics  are  abiding  and  unalterable.  They  were  the  same 
in  New  Testament  times  as  in  Old  Testament  times. 
They  have  not  been  changed  since. 

The  true  sermon  is  a  prophecy.  It  is  derived  from 
revelation;  it  is  the  product  of  spiritual  illumination;  it 
is  prepared  in  humble  prayer  and  delivered  in  conscious 
reliance  on  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  the  result  of  a  super- 
natural process ;  devoted  to  a  supernatural  work ;  made 
effective  by  a  supernatural  influence. 

But  the  exact  form  of  preaching,  like  all  prophecy, 
changes  with  the  changing  age.  Argument,  exhortation, 
illustration  and  application  become  superannuated  and  are 
superseded.  Others  are  introduced  born  of  the  new  needs 
and  new  aspirations.  So  there  comes  to  be  a  new  homi- 
letics.  The  prophet  is  a  prophet  still ;  but  he  is  a  prophet 
of  his  own  age  to  his  own  age.  If  it  be  not  so  the  age 
will  disown  him.  If  it  be  so  the  age  will  welcome  him, 
listen  to  him,  and  follow  him. 

Such  are  the  principles  upon  which  we  proceed  in 
this  volume.  We  exalt  preaching  as  a  form  of  prophecy. 
We  exclude,  of  course,  from  these  terms  all  those  fea- 
tures of  prophecy  which  are  derived  from  direct  inspira- 
tion— such  as  the  predictive  factor.  But  there  is  much 
remaining.      So  long  as   Christianity   is   regarded   as   a 


INTRODUCTORY 

supernatural  religion  the  essential  elements  of  prophecy 
will  remain,  namely,  these :  a  veritable  message  from 
God,  received  under  supernatural  conditions,  delivered 
in  the  name  of  its  Divine  Author  by  one  who  is  wholly 
given  to  its  sincere  proclamation. 

It  appears  then  that  the  prophetic  element  is  com- 
^  posed  of  two  integral  parts.  The  preacher  is  a  man  with 
a  message.  The  man  without  the  message  is  in  no  true 
sense  a  preacher.  The  message  without  the  man  is  not, 
in  the  largest  sense,  preaching.  We  consider  each  in 
order. 

I.  The  Message.  The  preacher's  message  is  derived 
from  the  Word  of  God  as  contained  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. It  is  nothing  more  nor  less  nor  other  than  a  por- 
tion of  these  Scriptures  explained,  illustrated,  and  ap- 
plied. 

The  words  of  the  Scriptures  possess  for  every  be- 
liever a  certain  force  and  meaning  which  they  do  not 
possess  for  the  unbeliever — a  spiritual  "savour."  They 
are  "quick  and  powerful"  as  the  Authorized  Version 
puts  it,  or  "living  and  active,"  according  to  the  Revision. 
But  if  such  be  the  case  with  the  private  Christian,  what 
of  the  preacher?  If  he  has  diligently  followed  the  Apos- 
tolic example  and  "continued  steadfastly  in  prayer  and 
in  the  ministry  of  the  Word"  (Acts  6:4),  should  not 
his  standing  be  unique  and  his  influence  transcendent? 
Should  not  his  proclamation  of  the  truth  evoke  such  com- 
mendation from  those  who  hear  him,  as  one  has  written 
concerning  the  heralds  of  the  "Gospel  of  Mystery?" 

"  Their  banners  blaze  and  shine 

With  Jesus  Christ's  dear  name 
And  story,  how  by  God's  design 
He  saves  us  in  His  love  divine 

And  lifts  us  from  our  sin  and  shame. 


INTRODUCTORY 

"Their  music  fills  the  air, 

Their  songs  sing  all  of  heaven; 
Their  ringing  trumjiet-peals  declare 
What  crowns  to  souls  who  fight  and  dare 

And  win,  shall  presently  be  given. 

"But  all  the  banners  bear 

Some  words  we  can  not  read, 
And  mystic  echoes  in  the  air, 
Which  borrow  from  the  song  no  share, 
In  sweetness  all  the  songs  exceed." 

{Saxe  Holm.) 

But  "mystery"  though  it  be,  there  is  no  mysticism  about 
it.  Illumination  does  not  add  to  the  Word  nor  alter  it. 
It  does  no  violence  either  to  the  laws  of  speech  or  the 
laws  of  the  understanding.  It  simply  quickens  the  spir- 
itual perceptions  so  that  the  meaning  which  was  before 
hidden  becomes  clear.  It  does  for  the  preacher  what 
Jesus  did  for  His  disciples  when  He  "opened  their  minds 
that    they    might    understand    the    Scriptures."    (Luke 

24:45-) 

But  still  further.  In  order  to  this  deeper  understand- 
ing of  the  Scriptures  and  the  proclamation  of  their  mes- 
sage there  is  need  not  of  less  study,  but  of  more.  Illu- 
mination is  indeed  supernatural ;  but  it  is  neither  un- 
natural or  miraculous.  It  creates  no  new  faculties;  it 
supplies  no  lack  of  learning.  Hence  the  need  of  diligent 
study  upon  the  part  of  the  preacher,  and  of  constant 
painstaking  care.  He  must  devote  himself  to  all  branches 
of  learning  which  may  contribute  to  his  usefulness,  and 
the  very  art  of  sermonizing  must  be  mastered.  The  mes- 
sage is  the  product  of  illumination;  but  the  more  conse- 
crated learning  it  conveys  the  more  instructive  and  in- 
fluential it  will  be.  God  never  chose  men  for  His  special 
service  because  they  were  ignorant  or  stupid,  and  to  put 
any  sort  of  premium  on  illiteracy  is  to  reflect  upon  the 


INTRODUCTORY 

two  greatest  religious  teachers  of  all  mere  men  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New  respectively — Moses  and 
Paul.  We  do  well  to  emphasize  the  advice  given  long 
ago  by  Cowper,  and 

"  Lay  not  careless  hands 
On  skulls  that  can  not  teach  and  will  not  learn." 

The  best  preaching  then  is  done  by  the  preacher  who 
has  gathered  the  best  materials,  provided  he  has  disposed 
them  in  due  subserviency  to  the  governing  principle.  Dr. 
Robertson  Nicoll  well  sums  up  the  matter  in  these  words : 

"What  is  supremely  important  to  a  minister  is  that 
he  should  have  a  message.  Other  things  are  by  no  means 
to  be  despised.  Nearly  all  wise  Christians  are  of  the 
opinion  that  the  education  of  preachers,  so  far  from  being 
lowered,  ought  to  be  made  much  more  thorough  than  it 
is.  I  do  not  need  to  dwell  on  this,  but  rather  to  insist 
upon  the  other  side,  that  the  preacher  without  a  definite 
message,  no  matter  how  well  furnished  otherwise,  is 
necessarily  impotent."  "Further,"  he  continues,  "this 
message  is  always  a  secret  given  by  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
blessed  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  No  book,  no  earthly  teacher, 
can  ever  impart  that  hidden  wisdom  without  which  a  min- 
ister must  be  a  thing  of  nought." 

The  author  of  "Verbum  Dei"  well  expressed  the  truth 
in  announcing  his  theme  for  the  Yale  lectures  of  1893. 
"Every  living  preacher  must  receive  his  communication 
direct  from  God,  and  the  constant  purpose  of  his  life 
must  be  to  receive  it  uncorrupted  and  to  deliver  it  with- 
out addition  or  subtraction." 

The  musician  who  is  an  expert  performer  upon  the 
cornet  sometimes  suffers  a  serious  misfortune  in  what  is 
called  "losing  his  lip."  The  cause  can  not  be  fully  ex- 
plained ;  but  the  fact  remains  that  for  some  strange  reason 


INTRODUCTORY 

the  lips  refuse  to  take  the  shape  which  is  necessary  to  the 
control  of  the  instrument.  In  this  condition  the  musician 
can  make  a  great  variety  of  sounds,  but  he  finds  himself 
absolutely  incapable  of  producing  a  single  musical  tone, 
much  less  of  evolving  a  melody. 

The  preacher  may  suflfer  a  similar  but  much  more 
serious  misfortune.  Then  there  will  be  "words,  words, 
words,"  but  none  of  the  melody  of  the  gospel.  And  the 
sermon  will  fail — not  as  a  piece  of  rhetoric  perhaps,  but 
as  a  message  from  God  to  dying  men. 

But  how  different,  how  very  different,  when  the 
preacher  is  true  to  his  prophetic  commission.  His  God 
does  not  desert  him.  Again  and  again  the  truth  is  flashed 
upon  his  mind  in  startling  beauty  and  overwhelming 
power',  and  as  he  presents  it  to  his  people  the  same  Divine 
Spirit  which  brought  it  home  to  his  own  heart  and  con- 
science brings  it  home  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of 
his  hearers.  He  is  clothed  with  that  peculiar  "authority" 
of  which  Dr.  Shedd  speaks  so  forcibly  in  his  lecture  on 
"Eloquence  and  Exegesis" — "the  first  and  indispensable 
requisite"  in  sermonizing.  He  manifests  a  "high  celestial 
dogmatism"  and  "human  weakness  becomes  immortal 
strength."  His  hearers  recognize  the  unusual  elevation 
of  his  thought,  the  purity  of  his  motive,  and  the  validity 
of  his  appeals.  They  feel  that  in  some  very  strange  but 
very  real  way  there  is  divine  import  and  almighty  ur- 
gency behind  it  all.  The  preacher  has  become  to  them 
far  more  than  a  teacher  or  lecturer;  more  than  a  mere 
scribe  or  doctor  of  the  law.  He  is  a  prophet ;  he  speaks 
for  his  God! 

II.    We  proceed  now  to  the  second  factor — The  Man. 
All  that  may  be  said  in  this  connection  is  forecast  in  a 
single  sentence:    The  man  is  not  simply  to  possess  the' 
message;  he  is  rather  to  be  possessed  by  it.    In  this  re- 


INTRODUCTORY 

spect  there  is  no  substantial  difference  between  the  in- 
spired prophet  of  Bible  times  and  the  uninspired  prophet 
of  all  times — the  origin  and  gravity  of  the  message  are 
controlling.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  has  very  justly  said: 
"A  preacher  is  in  some  degree  a  reproduction  of  the  truth 
in  personal  form.  In  the  preacher  the  word  becomes 
again  as  it  was  when  first  spoken  by  prophet,  priest,  or 
apostle.  It  springs  up  in  him  as  if  it  were  first  kindled 
in  his  heart  and  he  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  give 
it  forth.  He  is  so  moved."  The  preacher  says  with  Paul, 
"Necessity  is  laid  upon  me;  for  woe  is  unto  me  if  I 
preach  not  the  gospel."  (I.  Cor.  9:  i6.)  He  says  with 
Peter :  "Whether  it  is  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken 
unto  you  rather  than  unto  God,  judge  ye.  For  v/e  can 
not  but  speak  the  things  which  we  saw  and  heard."  (Acts 
4: 19,  20.)  The  message  is  stronger  than  the  man.  He 
is  condemned  if  he  conceals  it.  He  is  constrained  to  tell 
what  has  been  communicated  to  his  soul.  The  message 
makes  the  man,  rather  than  the  man  the  message ;  and 
the  man  thus  made  is  a  preacher. 

And  yet  herein  lurks  a  subtle,  sometimes  a  fatal  temp- 
tation— the  preacher's  personality.  How  often  it  out- 
grows its  limitations !  How  imperious  it  sometimes  be- 
comes !  Forgetting  for  the  time  being  that  the  message 
is  not  our  own,  and  feeling  and  acting  as  though  it  were 
our  own,  we  attempt  to  exercise  control  over  it  rather 
than  to  permit  it  to  freely  control  us.  The  preacher 
thrusts  himself  into  the  first  place.  He  hides  the  very  Sav- 
ior with  his  own  obtrusive  personality.  The  inspired 
prophets  themselves  sometimes  succumbed  to  this  temp- 
tation and  forfeited  their  inspiration.  Moses  went  down 
before  it  at  Meribah.  Elijah  weakened  under  it  when 
he  fled  from  Jezebel.  Peter  played  the  gospel  false  in 
its  power  when  he  dissembled  at  Antioch.     When  we 


INTRODUCTORY 

yield  to  it  we,  too,  "speak  unadvisedly  with  our  lips"  and 
the  Master  is  dishonored. 

In  such  a  case  the  preacher  may  seem  to  be  even  more 
earnest  than  before — just  as  Moses  was.  His  earnestness 
may  even  degenerate  into  positive  violence ;  but  it  is  pro- 
fessional not  prophetical  earnestness.  There  is  much 
flame  but  little  heat ;  loud  thundering  but  no  lightning. 
And  this  mere  professional  earnestness  is  the  bane  of  the 
pulpit.  Just  because  it  is  able  to  simulate  so  closely  the 
baptism  of  fire,  it  becomes  both  to  pastor  and  people  one 
of  the  most  serious  of  delusions.  Even  the  Pharisee — 
both  in  pulpit  and  pew,  shrewdly  abandons  his  self-adula- 
tion for  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  and  the  pub- 
lican becomes  the  model  after  which  his  pious  formulas 
are  constructed.  Professional  earnestness  is  devoted  to 
all  the  externals  of  Church  life.  It  multiplies  machinery ; 
it  labors  for  congregational  aggrandizement;  it  vehe- 
mently urges  the  evangelical  faith  and  champions  the  doc- 
trines of  orthodoxy.  But  in  it  all  the  preacher's  per- 
sonality is  to  the  fore  and,  exalting  his  office  rather  than 
his  God,  he  cries  with  Moses,  "Hear  now,  ye  rebels,  shall 
WE  bring  you  forth  water  out  of  this  rock."  (Numb. 
20:  10.)  Strangely  enough  the  water  often  flows,  even 
in  such  a  case.  The  dishonored  God  will  not  dishonor 
the  prophet's  commission  and  the  prophet's  rod ;  but  the 
prophet  himself  has  lost  a  prophet's  reward. 

There  must  be  upon  the  man's  part,  then,  a  conscious 
self-surrender.  Like  John  the  Baptist,  the  truth  which 
he  is  sent  to  proclaim  must  take  such  possession  of  him 
that  he  shall  refuse  to  be  identified  except  by  and  in  his 
message  and  become,  as  it  were,  only  a  "Voice" — the 
voice  of  something  other  than  himself,  intangible,  mys- 
terious, and  mighty.  Let  us  sum  it  all  up  in  the  eloquent 
words  of  Bautain,  the  great  professor  of  the  Sorbonne: 


INTRODUCTORY 

"He  should  blot  himself  out  in  the  presence  of  the  truth 
and  make  it  alone  appear.  This  will  happen  naturally, 
spontaneously,  whenever  he  is  profoundly  impressed  by 
it  and  identifies  himself  with  it,  heart  and  mind.  Then 
he  grows  like  it,  great,  mighty,  and  dazzling.  It  is  no 
longer  he  who  lives,  it  is  the  truth  which  in  him  lives 
and  acts.  The  man  vanishes  in  the  virtue  of  the  Almighty, 
and  this  is  the  speaker's  noblest,  his  true  glory.  Then 
are  wrought  the  miracles  of  eloquence  which  turn  men's 
wills  and  change  their  souls,  and  such  is  the  end  at  which 
the  Christian  orator  should  aim.  Oh,  ye  who  have  taken 
the  Lord  for  your  inheritance  and  who  glow  with  the 
desire  to  announce  to  men  the  Word  of  God,  ask  urgently 
of  Him  the  grace  to  forget  yourselves  and  to  think  of 
Him — of  Him  only!" 

In  defining  the  term,  "the  prophetic  element,"  we  were 
careful  to  exclude  the  predictive  factor,  as  it  appears  in 
the  prophets  of  the  Scriptures.  But  after  all  that  has 
been  said  we  perceive  that  something  very  akin  to  it  is 
the  true  preacher's  most  signal  characteristic.  It  bears 
the  same  relation  to  predictive  prophecy  which  illumina- 
tion bears  to  inspiration ;  it  is  the  product  of  illumination 
in  connection  with  the  predictive  portions  and  general 
predictive  character  of  the  Word  of  God.  The  preacher 
has  no  such  vision  as  the  inspired  prophet.  The  future 
does  not  rise  before  him  in  distinct  detail  and  elaborate 
reality.  Nevertheless  he  often  manifests  an  unusual  fore- 
sight, indulges  hopes  which  others  deem  chimerical,  and 
anticipates  events  of  which  others  never  dreamed.  He 
becomes  a  seer.  He  meditates  so  long  upon  the  methods 
of  the  Divine  Providence,  he  is  brought  into  such  loving 
sympathy  with  the  development  of  the  Redeemer's  plans 
that  he  is  able  to  forecast  the  trend  of  Providence,  at  least 
in  its  general  features,  and  to  organize  for  the  oncoming 


INTRODUCTORY 

of  the  Kingdom.  He  counts  upon  agencies  that  men  of 
the  world  despise ;  he  rehes  upon  the  promises ;  he  takes 
God  into  the  account. 

This  is  the  crown  of  the  prophetic  element  in  preach- 
ing. It  is  the  same  divine  rriessage  which  we  have  dis- 
cussed, looking  to  the  great  future.  It  is  the  same  self- 
surrendered  man  projecting  himself  into  the  coming 
years.  O,  what  wonders  it  accomplishes  for  God  and 
humanity!  It  sails  a  "Mayflower"  across  the  untried 
ocean — sweet  pledge  and  promise  of  the  season  that  shall 
be  when  the  May  flowers  are  succeeded  by  the  summer 
harvest.  It  sends  a  "Morning  Star"  far,  far  away  to 
lands  that  sit  in  darkness,  bright  harbinger  of  rising  day 
and  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  The  log  college,  the 
missionary  hay-stack,  the  "Ride  that  saved  a  continent" 
— what  are  these  but  meager  illustrations  of  the  many 
times  and  many  ways  in  which  prophetic  saints  have 

"  Viewed  the  triumph  from  afar 
And  seized  it  with  their  eye  " 

Surely  Peter  put  no  limitations  on  the  language  of 
the  Prophet  Joel,  when  he  quoted  him  upon  the  Day  of 
Pentecost:  "And  it  shall  be  in  the  last  days,  saith  God, 
I  will  pour  forth  of  My  Spirit  upon  all  flesh;  and  your 
sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  and  your  young 
men  shall  see  visions  and  your  old  men  shall  dream 
dreams."  (Acts  2:  17,)  In  view  of  such  an  inspiring  de- 
liverance we  conclude  by  reiterating  the  words  of  Moses, 
when  it  was  told  him  that  Eldad  and  Medad  did  prophesy 
in  the  camp:  "Would  that  all  Jehovah's  people  were 
prophets  that  Jehovah  would  put  His  Spirit  upon  them." 
(Numbers  11 :29.)* 

•The  quotations  from  the  Scripturei  in  this  Tolume  are  aU  from  the 
American  Standard  Revision,  except  those  employed  by  others  and  takeu 
from  the  Authorized  Version. 


CONTENTS 

PREFACE, m 

INTRODUCTORY :  THE  ESSENTIAL  ELEMENT,     -        -  tU 
PART  I— THE  STUDY 

I.    The  Text:  Advantages;  Acquisition,      -        -        -  21 

XL    The  Preacher's  Duty  by  His  Text,    -        -        -  33 

III.    Textual  Analysis, 49 

»'   IV.    Planning  the  Sermon, 65 

V.    The  Attack  Upon  the  Text, 75 

VI.     The  Introduction, 85 

VII.     Sermon  Body, 99 

VIII.     The  Conclusion, iii 

IX.     Materials, 121 

X.     Ministerial  Senility, 149 

XI.    Originality, 163 

XII.     Instruction, 185 

XIII.     Argumentation, 217 

\^  XIV.     Illustration, 235 

XV.     Imagination, 257 

XVI.     Application, 273 

XVII.     Moral  Quality, 287 

XVIII.      HOMILETICAL   MAXIMS, 3OI 

PART  II— THE  PULPIT 

I.     Pulpit  Manners, 305 

II.     Extemporaneous  Preaching  :   Advantages  ;  Funda- 
mental Principles, 317 

III.  Extemporaneous  Preaching;    Material,                  -  331 

IV.  Attention,  Preliminaries,     .        -        -                -  351 
V.     Securing  and  Holding  Attention,  -        -        -        -  361 

PART  III— VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

TaE  Narrative  Sermon, 375 

Vll.    The  Expository  Sermon,'  -        -        -        .-^      .        .  387 

III.  The  Evangelistic  Sermon, 401 

IV.  The  Special  Sermon, 417 

V.    The  Doctrinal  Sermon, 427 

VI.    The  Illustrated  Sermon, 437 

VII.    Sermons  in  Courses, 449 


y/i. 


PART  I. 
THE  STUDY. 


THE  TEXT:    ADVANTAGES ;  ACQUISITION. 

Sermons  classified. 

Topical ;  textual ;  expository. 

I.  Advantages  of  preaching  from  a  text. 

Divergent  views. 

The  special  advantages. 

Failure  of  "Lectureships." 

II.  Acquisition  of  texts. 
False  methods. 

The  homiletical  temptation. 

Suggestion  the  fruitful  source,  as  promoted  by: 

1.  Devotional  reading  of  the  Bible. 

2.  Other  sermons  and  religious  literature. 

3.  Providential  circumstances. 
Keep  a  text-book. 


Kead   Watson's    "Cure   of  Souls;"   Pattison's    "Making  of   the  Sermon, 
Chap.  II;  Horton's  "Verbum  Dei,"  Lect.  I. 


THE  TEXT:  ADVANTAGES;  ACQUISITION 

The  usual  classification  of  sermons  with  reference 
to  the  text  and  the  one  which  we  shall  employ  is  the 
following:  topical,  textual,  and  expository. 

Topical  sermons  are  those  in  which  the  subject  alone 
is  derived  from  the  text.  Textual  sermons  are  those 
in  which  the  subject  and  main  divisions  are  derived  from 
the  text.  Expository  sermons  are  those  in  which  the 
subject,  main  divisions  and  most  of  the  details  are  de- 
rived from  the  text. 

In  the  topical  method  there  is  more  opportunity  for 
the  display  of  rhetorical  ability  and  pulpit  oratory. 
There  is  also  an  opportunity  to  discuss  certain  themes 
which  are  not  strictly  speaking  "Scriptural,"  in  that  the 
very  subject  is  brought  to  notice  in  the  Bible.  But  this 
method  has  this  positive  disadvantage  that  the  preacher 
is  apt  to  become  decidedly  unscriptural,  to  forget  his  mes- 
sage, and  to  discourse  upon  unsuitable  themes. 

The  textual  method  is  closely  allied  to  the  expository 
and  the  line  of  demarkation  can  not  be  sharply  drawn. 
In  the  expository  sermon  more  attention  is  generally 
given  to  special  words  or  expressions,  with  more  partic- 
ular and  extended  explanation.  The  disadvantages  of 
tViese  methods  is  apparent ;  they  do  not  afiford  the  range 

the  topical  method.  But  they  have  this  great  ad- 
►'antage,  the  preacher  who  employs  them  deals  with  dis- 
tinctively Scriptural  themes.  It  is  well  to  employ  all 
three  methods,  with  the  preponderance  of  the  textual. 


S3  THE  STUDY 

I.  Advantages  of  preaching  from  a  text.  It  is  held 
by  some  that  the  use  of  a  text  furnishes  no  positive  ad- 
vantage. Certain  writers  have  claimed  that  "a  slavish 
adherence  to  a  text  cramps  the  liberty  of  preaching." 
Voltaire  is  quoted  by  many  as  saying  that  for  a  preacher 
to  speak  at  length  upon  a  brief  quotation  and  to  make 
his  whole  discourse  bear  upon  that,  "appears  to  be  tri- 
fling little  worthy  the  dignity  of  the  ministry.  The  text 
becomes  a  kind  of  motto,  or  rather  enigma,  which  the 
discourse  develops."  Some  have  also  said  that  the  use 
of  the  text,  especially  of  the  short  text,  is  often  fatal  to 
the  most  intelligent  treatment  of  the  Scripture  itself. 
The  Bible  is  chopped  into  fragments  and  sadly  abused 
by  the  dislocation  of  its  parts.  Its  real  meaning  and 
intent  can  not  be  discovered,  so  it  is  said,  by  taking  a 
few  isolated  words  from  some  consistent  book,  and  using 
them  in  whatever  way  the  preacher  may  himself  desire. 
It  is  still  further  urged  that  the  use  of  texts  renders  the 
preacher  monotonous  and  unnatural;  that  he  is  not  him- 
self. His  intellect  as  well  as  moral  nature  is  cramped  by 
the  process,  and  upon  this  very  account  he  becomes  some- 
what uninteresting,  and  therefore  some  authorities  would 
give  the  preacher  considerable  liberty  in  this  matter, 
and  not  oblige  him  upon  every  occasion  to  speak  from 
a  definite  passage  selected  from  the  Scripture.  Prof. 
Hoyt  claims  that  "preaching  must  be  the  unfolding  and 
application  of  some  truth  in  harmony  with  Scripture," 
but  it  need  not  necessarily  be  in  the  very  words  of 
Scripture,  because,  as  he  inquires,  "Must  the  sermon 
always  have  a  text?  Does  it  fail  to  be  God's  message 
without  a  text?  Surely  not,"  and  he  quotes  the  words 
of  Vinet,  "What  gives  a  Christian  character  to  a  sermon 
is  not  the  text,  but  the  spirit  of  the  preacher.  It  may 
be  very  Biblical  without  a  text,  and  with  a  text  not 


ADVANTAGES ;  ACQUISITION  23 

Biblical  at  all."  The  same  author  says  that  the  "pulpit 
may  need  to  speak  of  some  special  need  or  duty  of  so- 
ciety, and  find  it  difficult  to  find  a  single  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture proper,  teaching  the  exact  phase  of  the  truth.  Then 
do  not  hesitate  to  unfold  and  apply  what  you  hold  to  be 
the  law  of  Christ,  without  a  text.  Far  better  to  do  this 
than  to  have  the  only  connection  between  Scripture  and 
sermon  that  of  sound." 

We  believe,  however,  that  the  use  of  a  text  has  such 
a  manifest  advantage  that  it  is  not  proper  at  any  time  to 
preach  without  its  use.  This  is  the  position  taken  by 
most  thoughtful  writers  upon  this  subject.  Prof.  Dabney, 
writing  in  1870,  declares  that  the  preacher's  only  work 
is  to  expound  and  apply  to  the  people  an  authoritative 
message  from  God.  Dr.  Slattery  declares  "the  text  will 
never  grow  obsolete.  There  is  a  dignity  in  its  use  which 
belongs  to  the  realm  of  historical  good  taste,"  a  taste 
which  is  sanctified  by  the  whole  history  of  preaching. 
And  Dr.  Horton,  in  his  "Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching," 
gives  great  emphasis  to  the  same  idea.  He  tells  us  that 
the  aim  of  his  lectures  "is  to  show  that  preaching  must 
be  the  deliverance  of  a  word  of  God,  received  immedi- 
ately from  God."  He  calls  this  a  "neglected  truism," 
but  he  recurs  to  it  again  and  again.  He  says  "the  man 
is  set  apart  to  address  his  fellow-men,  sometimes  men 
who  are  his  peers  in  knowledge  and  ability.  Why  should 
they  listen  to  him  ?  There  is  no  reason  why  they  should 
unless  he  has  been  in  the  secret  cell  of  the  Oracle  and 
has  heard  God  speak,  and  practically  they  will  not  unless 
the  authentic  command  is  in  him,  and  'Thus  saith  the 
Lord'  introduces  all  he  teaches."  The  chief  advantage, 
therefore,  of  the  use  of  a  text  can  be  no  better  expressed 
than  in  the  words  of  Chas.  H.  Parkhurst,  "There  is  an 
Almightiness  behind  it."     Kern  expresses  the  truth  in 


24  .  THE  STUDY 

somewhat  different  language  when  he  says,  "The  chief 
advantage  of  the  text  is  that  the  preacher's  theme  is  given 
to  him."  And  Dr.  Oswell  Dykes  expresses  it  in  still  an- 
other form,  but  equally  emphatic,  "A  good  sermon  is  not 
one  sought  after,  but  one  given." 

Other  advantages  might  be  mentioned,  but  they  are 
not  of  great  value  as  compared  with  this.  The  preacher, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  a  prophet ;  he  conveys  a  message  to 
men  which  he  has  himself  received  through  diligent  study 
of  the  Word  of  God  and  the  illumination  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  preaching  has  not 
long  endured  which  has  proceeded  upon  any  other  plan. 
Religious  "lectureships,"  as  they  are  sometimes  called, 
have  usually  been  dismal  failures.  They  might  have  suc- 
ceeded for  a  while  in  enlisting  the  interest  of  a  number  of 
people,  but  they  were  unable  to  hold  a  congregation  for 
any  great  length  of  time.  Dr.  Horton  says :  "The  lecturer 
has  a  sphere  of  his  own,  but  it  is  not  the  preacher's.  The 
lecturer  may  under  inspiration  become  a  preacher,  but 
woe  to  the  preacher  if  under  some  supposed  influence  he 
becomes  merely  a  lecturer.  He  will  not  have  staying 
power.  An  encyclopedia  is  exhausted  in  time.  Long 
before  it  is  exhausted  the  hearers  are  exhausted  with  re- 
ceiving it.  The  world  rightly  declines  to  hear  two  lec- 
tures a  week  from  the  same  man  throughout  the  year." 
The  preacher  holds  his  place  in  the  community,  and  holds 
the  audiences  that  wait  upon  his  preaching,  because  he 
is  supposed  to  expound  the  inspired  Word  of  Almighty 
God,  and  those  preachers  who  do  it  the  most  carefully 
and  the  most  faithfully  have  the  largest  and  most  perma- 
nent influence.     Such  is  the  advantage  of  a  text. 

H.  How  are  texts  to  be  acquired?  This  question 
might  be  very  easily  answered  if  all  that  the  preacher  de- 
sired were  simply  some  small  section  of  the  Bible  con- 


ADVANTAGES;  ACQUISITION  35 

cerning  which  he  could  say  something  of  some  character 
to  a  certain  set  of  people;  but  if  that  is  involved  in  the 
text  which  has  been  applied  above,  then  the  acquisition 
of  texts  means  very  much  more  than  this.  Dr.  Watson 
(Ian  Maclaren)  in  his  "Cure  of  Souls"  has  a  very  amus- 
ing but  very  just  description  of  the  preacher  whose  no- 
tion of  acquiring  texts  is  of  this  inferior  sort.  He  says : 
"As  it  is  the  duty  of  this  artisan  to  furnish  two  sermons 
for  next  Sunday,  he  goes  out,  say  on  Tuesday,  into  the 
Bible  as  into  a  woodyard,  and  selects  with  due  delibera- 
tion suitable  material,  and  then  bit  by  bit  he  constructs 
the  discourse,  measuring,  sawing,  planing,  and  joining  in 
a  very  deft  manner,  and  finishing  with  a  polish  composed 
of  one  part  spirit,  crude  and  fiery,  and  three  parts  thick, 
sweet  oil."  He  then  goes  on  to  show  that  this  artisan  has 
a  set  of  very  simple  designs  which  answer  all  his  pur- 
poses— conventional  designs  upon  which  he  can  construct 
a  sermon  on  almost  any  text. 

The  very  expression  "the  acquisition  of  texts"  pos- 
sesses then  a  peculiar  meaning.  Texts  are  never  acquired 
by  a  homiletical  search-warrant.  Of  course,  passages  of 
Scripture  may  be  easily  found,  as  we  have  intimated ;  but 
texts  that  are  texts  indeed  are  not  found  by  simply  hunt- 
ing for  them.  To  treat  the  Bible  as  a  mere  compendium 
of  texts  is  foolish  and  wrong ;  it  yields  no  worthy  fruits. 
It  has  a  bad  effect  upon  the  hearer,  to  begin  with.  Camp- 
bell Morgan  says,  "There  are  thousands  of  people  who 
have  been  brought  up  in  somewhat  close  relationship  to 
the  Christian  Church  who  nevertheless  think  only  of  the 
Bible  as  a  book  of  texts  from  which  sermons  are  preached, 
or  which  are  quoted  in  proof  of  some  theological  posi- 
tion." This  is  very  true.  But  whose  fault  is  it?  How 
has  it  come  about? 

We  are  dealing,  however,  with  the  preacher,  and  Dr. 


26  THE  STUDY 

Morgan  says  of  him,  "To  think  out  a  sermon  which  seems 
religious  arid  then  to  hunt  for  some  Bibhcal  text  upon 
which  to  hang  it,  is  little  short  of  profane."  Dr.  M.  B. 
Riddle  says :  "The  most  pernicious  habit  is  that  of  study- 
ing passages  of  Scripture  mainly,  if  not  exclusively,  for 
homiletical  purposes.  To  treat  the  Word  of  God  as  a 
collection  of  texts  for  sermons  is  putting  dishonor  upon 
it.  To  use  it  as  if  this  were  its  character  is  to  get  away 
from  its  full  and  true  meaning.  He  who  seeks  to  find 
in  it  little  save  sermon  material  will  soon  find  himself 
short  of  good  sermon  material.  What  he  thinks  he  finds 
will  prove  to  be  inadequate,  and  very  often  incorrect." 

One  of  the  most  specious  temptations  to  which  the 
preacher  is  exposed  is  this  very  homiletical  temptation. 
Just  because  it  is  so  closely  associated  with  his  work  and 
with  his  own  devotion  to  his  great  calling  he  is  the  more 
liable  to  fall  before  it.  Where  then  lies  the  danger,  and 
how  is  it  to  be  avoided?  The  danger  lies  in  this — that 
he  reads  the  Word  of  God  only  that  he  may  apply  it  to 
others.  He  avoids  it  by  reading  first  of  all  for  his  own 
soul's  sake.  The  preacher  who  seldom  reads  his  Bible 
except  for  some  sort  of  a  homiletical  purpose,  may  quite 
unconsciously  excuse  himself  from  his  own  private  study 
upon  the  ground  that  he  is  professionally  engaged  with 
the  Bible  much  of  his  time ;  but  such  a  preacher  is  not 
likely  either  to  feed  his  own  soul  or  to  feed  the  souls  of 
others.  The  texts  upon  which  he  discourses  will  not  be 
chosen  in  the  right  spirit,  nor  handled  in  the  most  profit- 
able manner.  His  work  will  be  professional  and  perfunc- 
tory, not  warm,  personal,  practical,  and  spiritual. 

How  then,  we  ask  again,  is  he  to  acquire  his  texts? 
There  are  a  variety  of  ways,  all  of  them  included  in  the 
one  word  "suggestion."  The  suggestion,  however,  is  of 
God.    Texts  may  come  to  the  preacher  in  the  course  of 


ADVANTAGES;  ACQUISITION  27 

his  general  reading  or  of  his  pastoral  duties,  or  in  con- 
nection with  special  circumstances  transpiring  about  him. 
But  from  whatever  source  they  arise  they  are  given  to 
him,  and  in  that  sense  they  are  not  of  him.  It  is  far  bet- 
ter then  for  one  to  put  himself  in  the  way  of  texts  find- 
ing him,  than  for  him  to  attempt  to  find  texts.  Dr.  Wat- 
son says :  "It  is  not  the  man  who  selects  the  text.  It  is 
the  text  which  selects  the  man."  "As  the  minister  was 
busy  with  study,  or  as  he  sat  by  the  bedside  of  the  sick, 
or  as  he  walked  the  crowded  street,  the  truth,  clad  in  a 
text,  suddenly  appeared  and  claimed  his  acquaintance. 
It  seemed  to  him  that  they  had  met  in  the  past,  as  one  is 
haunted  by  the  idea  that  he  has  known  some  one  before 
he  has  ever  seen  him,  and  he  will  be  right;  for  there  is 
a  pre-established  harmony  between  that  particular  truth 
and  his  own  soul." 

I.  The  very  best  of  all  sources  from  which  texts  are 
acquired  is  the  devotional  reading  of  the  Bible.  The 
minister  beyond  all  others  should  give  time  to  the  private 
reading  of  the  Word  of  God,  without  any  direct  and 
positive  thought  of  employing  that  Word  except  for  his 
own  spiritual  nourishment  and  comfort.  He  is  looking 
for  nothing  but  the  message  of  God  to  his  own  soul.  If 
the  private  Christian,  who  is  charged  with  no  profes- 
sional Christian  service,  should  be  encouraged  thus  to 
read  the  Word  of  God,  much  more  so  the  minister;  else 
he  may  some  day  take  up  the  lament  of  the  preacher  of 
old,  "They  made  me  keeper  of  the  vineyards,  but  mine 
own  vineyard  have  I  not  kept."  And  yet  in  the  course 
of  this  devotional  reading  of  the  Bible,  when  he  has  no 
conscious  thought  of  reading  for  homiletical  purposes, 
the  best  texts  will  suggest  themselves  to  him ;  that  is  to 
say,  those  that  are  best  for  him  to  employ.  The  words  of 
Scripture  have  struck  a  responsive  cord  in  his  own  soul. 


2«  THE  STUDY 

They  have  found  his  weakness,  his  need,  his  sin.  They 
have  brought  to  him  strength,  consolation,  salvation;  and 
his  first  thought  concerning  them  may  be,  after  he  has 
applied  them  to  himself,  "These  words  might  be  of  vast 
service  to  others  also."    He  has  acquired  a  text. 

But  this  text  must  be  worked  into  his  life  before  it  can 
be  worked  out  for  his  pulpit.  This  does  not  mean  that 
he  is  never  to  preach  upon  the  evil  of  sins  which  he  has 
not  himself  committed,  nor  upon  heights  of  virtue  which 
he  has  never  himself  attained ;  but  that  in  some  way  he 
must  have  been  made  spiritually  susceptible  to  the  mes- 
sage which  he  is  to  bring  to  his  people.  Dr.  Horton  tells 
of  one  whom  he  calls  a  noble  preacher  in  England,  who 
declared  that  the  turning  point  in  his  ministry  came  when 
he  discovered  this  principle.  "He  noted  carefully  which 
parts  of  his  discourse  were  accountable  for  such  success 
as  attended  his  preaching,  and  presently  he  observed  that 
only  those  things  produced  any  effect  which  had  passed 
through  the  alembic  of  his  own  experience,  and  had  been 
in  fact  real  transactions  between  himself  and  God. 
Thenceforward  he  began  to  base  his  preaching  upon  that 
foundation,"  and  tides  of  blessing  followed  his  work. 

2.  But  texts  may  be  acquired  from  other  sources  of 
a  somewhat  similar  character.  They  are  still  acquired 
from  the  Scripture,  and  still  acquired  from  one's  own 
devotional  use  of  the  Scripture,  but  they  come  to  the 
preacher  indirectly.  He  may  obtain  his  texts  from  read- 
ing or  hearing  other  preachers'  sermons.  A  discourse 
which  he  will  not  repeat,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  con- 
tains the  suggestion  of  which  we  have  spoken.  A  verse 
of  Scripture  may  have  been  quoted  with  a  bare  reference. 
or  with  a  slight  use  made  of  it ;  but  it  comes  home  to  the 
heart  and  mind  of  the  reader  or  listener.  A  world  of 
truth  is  opened  before  him  in  connection  with  the  quota- 


ADVANTAGES;  ACQUISITION  29 

tion.  The  suggestion  is  pregnant  with  meaning,  and  ha 
has  acquired  a  text.  The  like  may  happen  in  the  reading 
of  a  hymn,  or  some  article  upon  a  certain  phase  of  reli- 
gious experience  or  activity.  But  the  point  is  this,  that 
however  indirectly  the  suggestion  may  come,  it  is  always 
connected  with  some  passage  of  Scripture,  and  is  always 
commended  to  the  preacher's  own  self,  his  own  need,  and 
his  own  growth  in  grace.  A  single  illustration  may  be 
given  of  the  way  in  which  this  may  be  done.  A  well 
known  British  preacher  discoursed  before  a  certain  audi- 
ence composed  of  ministers  and  students  for  the  ministry 
upon  this  subject,  "The  Joys  of  the  Ministry."  The  text 
which  came  into  the  mind  of  one  of  his  hearers  was  not 
mentioned  in  his  discourse,  but  it  was  suggested  by  it. 
The  supreme  example  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "who 
for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him  endured  the  cross, 
despising  shame."  The  text  which  came  into  the  mind 
of  one  of  his  hearers  was  not  mentioned  in  his  dis- 
course,  but  it  was  suggested  by  it.  The  supreme  exam- 
ple of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "who  for  the  joy  that  was 
set  before  Him  endured  the  cross,  despising  shame."  In 
connection  with  the  discourse  upon  the  "Joys  of  the  Min- 
istry," the  joy  of  Jesus  Christ  in  His  ministerial  work. 
His  service  for  humanity,  loomed  up  large  and  brilliant. 
It  was  to  the  hearer's  mind  the  supreme  example  of  the 
subject  with  which  the  speaker  was  engaged — the  joy  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

3.  Texts  may  be  acquired  from  providential  circum- 
stances. Yet  again  the  suggestion  of  the  circumstances 
is  always  connected  with  some  passage  of  Scripture. 
That  transpires  in  our  own  day  which  transpired  in  the 
day  of  the  sacred  writers,  but  with  its  own  peculiar  local 
and  temporal  coloring.  The  preacher  recurs,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  circumstances  of  to-day,  to  the  circum- 


30  THE  STUDY 

stances  of  old.  Some  text  is  borne  in  upon  his  mind  with 
new  meaning  and  power,  and  he  acquires  it,  to  his  own 
profit  and  the  profit  of  those  who  shall  listen  to  him.  Mr. 
Spurgeon  was  much  given  to  the  treatment  of  texts  asso- 
ciated with  current  incidents.  Upon  the  occasion  of  the 
taking  of  one  of  the  British  censuses,  which  is  always 
done  by  a  large  number  of  enumerators  upon  a  single 
day,  he  preached  from  Ps.  87 :  5,  6,  "Yea,  of  Zion  it  shall 
be  said,  This  one  and  that  one  was  born  in  her;  and  the 
Most  High  Himself  will  establish  her.  Jehovah  will 
count,  when  He  writeth  up  the  peoples,  this  one  was  born 
there." 

The  preacher  who  accustoms  himself  to  improve  such 
circumstances  will  be  in  the  way  of  exercising  great 
power  over  the  congregation  to  which  he  ministers.  It 
is  well  for  the  preacher  to  have  a  text-book  in  which 
he  shall  enter  the  names  of  such  texts  as  suggest  them- 
selves to  him,  with  such  thoughts  concerning  them  as  may 
come  to  him  from  time  to  time.  These  texts  should  be 
entered  v;ith  considerable  space  between  them  to  allow 
room  for  additional  notes.  It  will  be  well  also  if  every 
other  page  is  left  blank  for  the  same  purpose.  It  is  not 
usually  well  for  a  preacher  to  write  upon  a  text  when 
it  is  first  suggested  to  him,  but  to  prove  it  by  waiting, 
ruminating  upon  it,  and  gathering  around  it  those 
thoughts  and  illustrations  which  may  be  suggested  in  con- 
nection with  it,  in  much  the  same  way  in  which  the  text 
has  suggested  itself.  He  will  recur  to  these  thoughts 
whenever  he  opens  his  text-book  to  review  those  passages 
of  Scripture  which  have  been  entered  in  it.  And  the  text 
which  gathers  power,  and  presents  itself  to  his  own  mind 
with  more  and  more  force  as  the  time  passes  on,  will  be 
the  text  which  he  can  use  to  the  best  advantage  and 
preach  with  the  best  results. 


THE  PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT 


THE  PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT. 

His  chief  duty  is  to  preach  its  meaning, 

1.  No  text  has  more  than  one  meaning. 

2.  The  preacher  is  under  obligation  to  find  it. 

3.  Having  found  it  he  must  abide  by  it. 

4.  Yet  several  different  sermons  may  be  preached  from 

the  same  text. 
(i)  Its  meaning  may  be  enlarged. 

(2)  It  may  have  various  uses  and  applications. 

(3)  Its  general  principle  may  be  variously  employed. 

(4)  It  may  be  viewed  obliquely. 

5.  The  misuse  of  the  text. 

( 1 )  Intentional — "Accommodation." 

(2)  Unintentional. 

6.  The  preacher  must  maintain  his  intellectual  integrity. 


Read  Dabney's  "  Sacred  Rhetoric,"  I<ect.  V  ;  Garvie's  "  Guide  to  Preachers,' 
III;  Slittery's  "Preasent  Day  Preaching,'"  I;  Broadus'  "Prepara^iJn 
and  Delivery  of  Sermous,"  Part  I,  Chaps.  I  and  II. 


n. 

THE  PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT. 

The  preacher  having  chosen  his  text,  what  is  his  chief 
duty  by  it?  The  answer  may  be  given  in  a  single  sen- 
tence— to  preach  its  meaning.  Dr.  Dabney  says :  "The 
exact  mind  of  the  Spirit  in  the  text  must  be  ascertained 
before  you  presume  to  preach  upon  it.  A  proper  appre- 
hension of  the  preacher's  mission  will  make  him  intensely 
honest  and  prayerful  in  his  study."  Dr.  Pattison  says : 
"In  the  matter  of  the  selection  of  a  text  the  preacher 
should  do  his  utmost  to  be  conscientious.  Let  him  lay 
down  the  rule  that  he  has  no  right  to  take  a  text  unless 
he  means  to  use  it."  The  common  proverb  indeed  requires 
the  preacher  to  "stick  to  his  text ;"  but  the  proverb  does 
not  adequately  express  the  rule.  There  are  several  par- 
ticulars embraced  in  it,  as  follows : 

1.  No  text  has  more  than  one  meaning.  The  mean- 
ing may  not  always  be  clear  at  first  sight,  and  it  may  not 
be  very  clear  after  considerable  study.  There  also  may 
be  differing  interpretations  with  regard  to  its  meaning; 
but  no  one  can  dispute  the  statement  that  the  meaning, 
when  really  discovered,  is  a  single  meaning,  and  in  the 
very  nature  of  the  case  it  can  not  have  a  second  one. 

2.  The   preacher's   obligation   is  to   find   that   single - 
meaning.     He  can  not  take  the  second  step  until  he  has 
taken  this.     Before  anything  is  done  by  him  in  the  way 
of  sermon  construction  his  mind  must  be  settled  with  re- 
gard to  what  the  text  means.    This  may  involve  consider- 

33 


34  THE  STUDY 

able  breadth  of  study — a  good  knowledge  of  the  original 
languages,  correct  rules  of  exegesis,  acquaintance  with 
Bible  history  and  customs,  and  the  like.  By  such  means 
as  the  preacher  can  command  he  must  search  for  the 
meaning  of  the  text,  and  if  after  a  time  he  is  not  satisfied 
that  he  has  found  it,  the  text  should  be  abandoned  and 
another  chosen, 

3.  Having  found  the  meaning  of  this  text,  he  must 
abide  by  it  whatever  befall.  He  may  not  seek  to  modify 
it  in  any  way;  he  may  not  attempt  to  relax  the  condi- 
tions which  it  imposes  upon  the  faith  or  life  of  those  to 
whom  his  sermon  is  to  be  addressed.  He  must  not  seek 
to  neutralize  this  special  text  by  something  which  he  im- 
ports into  it  from  his  understanding  of  some  other  text 
of  Scripture.  This  is  not  to  say  that  he  is  not  to  inter- 
pret Scripture  by  Scripture;  only  that  he  is  not  to  set 
aside  the  plain  meaning  of  one  text  by  something  which 
he  thinks  he  finds  in  another.  He  must  not  admit  to  his 
own  mind,  much  less  to  his  sermon,  what  he  thinks  the 
text  might  mean,  or  might  be  made  to  mean,  much  less 
what  he  supposes  it  ought  to  mean. 

A  young  student  of  law  entered  the  office  of  a  dis- 
tinguished attorney  in  New  York  City.  Upon  a  certain 
occasion  the  attorney  was  engaged  in  preparing  for  a  very 
important  suit  which  was  to  be  tried  in  several  weeks. 
He  directed  his  student  to  search  certain  authorities  with 
regard  to  the  law,  as  he  himself  was  somewhat  uncertain 
with  regard  to  its  character  and  its  application  to  the  case 
in  hand.  After  a  lapse  of  several  days  he  inquired  what 
progress  his  assistant  had  made  in  his  work.  He  received 
very  little  satisfaction.  Several  more  days  passed  by. 
He  made  the  same  inquiry,  with  the  same  result.  Some- 
what surprised,  and  not  a  little  indignant,  he  inquired 
what  his  student  had  been  doing,  and  was  answered: 


PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT    35 

"Well,  sir,  I  have  found  a  good  many  references  in  this 
case,  but  T  do  not  think  I  have  discovered  anything  of 
service  to  you.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  law  ought  to  be 
thus  and  so,  but  I  can  not  find  that  it  is."  The  older  man 
turned  upon  him  and  ejaculated  with  vehemence,  "My 
dear  young  friend,  I  do  not  care  to  know  what  the  law 
ought  to  be :  all  I  wished  you  to  learn  for  me  was  what 
the  law  is."  And  is  it  not  so  with  the  preacher  of  the 
Word  of  God  ?  Should  he  not  be  at  all  times  chiefly  con- 
cerned with  knowing  what  the  law  of  God  is,  not  what  it 
ought  to  be? 

4.  This  does  not  mean  that  only  a  single  sermon  can 
be  preached  upon  a  given  text.  On  the  contrary  a  num- 
ber of  sermons  may  be  preached  from  it. 

(i)  The  single  meaning  may  be  very  much  enlarged 
as  the  preacher  proceeds  w-ith  his  study.  More  and  more 
light  may  break  forth  from  it  upon  his  mind,  so  that  hav- 
ing preached  one  sermon  upon  it  he  may  preach  yet  an- 
other. The  subject  may  be  the  very  same,  but  the  truth 
will  have  addition  and  amplification  beyond  anything 
which  he  set  forth  in  his  former  sermon,  so  that  virtually 
his  second  sermon  will  be  both  difTerent  and  better. 

(2)  The  single  meaning  of  the  text  may  have  a  num- 
ber of  applications,  and  therefore  may  be  employed  in 
several  ways,  and  a  number  of  different  sermons  pre- 
pared upon  it.  These  applications  will  depend,  for  ex- 
ample, upon  the  diflFerent  people  to  whom  it  is  addressed, 
the  different  places  in  w^hich  it  is  delivered,  and  the  differ- 
ent occasions  that  shall  call  for  its  presentation. 

(3)  The  single  meaning  may  embody  a  certain  defi- 
nite principle,  which  principle  may  be  legitimately  em- 
ployed in  a  number  of  ways — the  meaning  of  the  text 
being  duly  recognized.  There  are  many  such  texts  in 
the  Bible.    "Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also 


36  THE  STUDY 

reap,"  (Gal.  6:y)  contains  such  a  broad,  general  prin- 
ciple. As  presented  by  the  Apostle  Paul  it  referred  to 
the  matter  of  Christian  liberality ;  but  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  principle  should  be  limited  to  such  an  exercise. 
The  warning  of  Amos  4:  12,  "Prepare  to  meet  thy  God," 
referred  to  the  temporal  judgments  which  were  to  befall 
the  nation  in  case  it  did  not  repent.  But  the  deep  mean- 
ing of  the  text  may  be  used  at  any  time  when  the  prin- 
ciple which  it  embodies  is  employed,  to  warn  sinners  in 
their  indifference  or  their  antagonism  to  the  will  of  God. 

(4)  There  may  be  an  oblique  view  of  the  meaning  of 
the  text  which  shall  furnish  a  peculiarly  rich  and  prolific 
sermon,  though  it  is  not  that  view  which  presents  itself 
to  the  reader  upon  the  first  consideration.  And  yet  the 
oblique  view  may  be  even  more  faithful  to  the  deeper 
meaning  of  the  passage  than  the  first  and  more  direct 
view  itself.  This  oblique  view  is  characteristic  of  the 
sermons  of  Bushnell.  His  celebrated  sermon  upon  "Un- 
conscious Influence"  is  a  fine  illustration.  His  text  is 
John  20 :  8,  "Then  went  in  also  that  other  disciple."  The 
subject  which  he  derives  from  it  is  a  legitimate  subject. 
Peter's  influence  over  John,  all  unconscious  to  himself, 
certainly  appears  in  the  passage,  but  unconscious  influence 
is  not  its  immediate  and  direct  teaching. 

Archdeacon  Perowne  in  his  essay  upon  the  interpreta- 
tion of  texts,  sums  up  this  subject  in  a  most  interesting 
and  appropriate  way.  He  says :  "In  interpreting  a  text 
seek  to  ascertain  the  exact  and  proper  meaning  of  the 
words  in  which  it  is  couched.  An  interpretation  is  some- 
times put  upon  a  text  by  a  preacher  which  the  English 
words,  apart  from  any  reference  to  the  original,  on 
careful  consideration  will  not  bear.  A  thoughtful  and  in- 
telligent hearer  will  find  himself  asking:  'Can  this  really 
be  the  meaning  of  the  text?    I  know  nothing  of  Greek 


PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT    37 

or  Hebrew,  but  as  it  stands  in  my  Engish  Bible  I  do 
not  see  how  this  can  be  got  out  of  it,'  Our  very  famil- 
iarity with  the  Bible  may  prove  a  snare  to  us  in  this 
respect.  Its  words  and  phrases  which  we  have  known 
from  childhood  are  stereotyped  in  our  memories,  and 
sometimes  in  the  inexact  form  which  popular  tradition 
has  given  them.  There  are  such  things  as  conventional 
readings  as  well  as  conventional  interpretations  of  texts, 
— readings  which  are  inadequate  representations  of  our 
English  version,  but  which  have  become  so  familiar  to 
the  preacher  by  frequent  repetition  that  he  is  in  danger 
of  regarding  them  as  the  ipsissima  verba  of  his  text." 
5.  A  text  may  be  entirely  suitable  and  well  chosen, 
but  treated  in  a  very  unsuitable  way.  It  may  be  misused 
by  the  preacher,  intentionally  or  unintentionally.  The 
first  of  these  is,  of  course,  very  much  the  more  culpable. 
Yet  sometimes  the  preacher  deliberately  disregards  the 
single  meaning  of  the  text  and  the  purpose  for  which  it 
was  written,  using  it  in  another  sense  and  for  a  purpose 
altogether  foreign  to  that  for  which  it  was  originally  em- 
ployed. Sometimes  the  preacher  makes  full  confe^ion 
of  this  misuse.  He  may  even  say  to  his  congregation, 
"This  text  means  thus  and  so,  but  I  propose  to  employ 
it  this  morning  in  a  dififerent  sense."  This  misuse  of 
the  text  is  commonly  called  "Accommodation."  It  is 
so  thoroughly  well  understood,  and  so  frequently  treated 
in  books  upon  homiletics,  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  us 
to  employ  much  time  in  its  consideration.  Accommoda- 
tion, however,  is  a  very  much  broader  thing  than  is  com- 
monly understood.  It  is  more  than  the  misuse  of  a 
single  text,  principle,  or  doctrine  of  the  Scripture.  It 
is  the  misuse  of  its  entire  trend  and  teaching.  Dr.  Dykes 
well  says :  "This  question  of  accommodation  of  Scripture 
and  its  limit  is  commonly  discussed  in  connection  with 


38  THE  STUDY 

the  choice  or  use  of  a  text.  In  truth  it  is  a  much  wider 
question.  It  concerns  the  whole  employment  of  Scripure 
for  edification,  both  in  its  narrative  portions  and  above 
all  in  its  typology." 

There  are  some  who  would  permit  accommodation 
under  certain  circumstances.  They  say  that  such  a  use 
of  a  text  is  sometimes  permissible.  Dr.  Pattison,  for  ex- 
ample, alludes  to  the  sermon  of  Henry  Melville  upon 
the  occasion  of  the  burning  of  the  Royal  Exchange  in 
London.  His  text  was  the  passage  in  Revelation  18:17, 
which  describes  the  mourning  of  the  merchants,  made 
rich  in  the  mystic  Babylon,  over  her  fall ;  "In  one  hour 
so  great  riches  is  come  to  nought."  But  it  is  doubtful 
whether  such  a  use  of  a  text  should  ever  be  countenanced. 
Certainly  one  of  the  worst  forms  of  accommodation  is 
the  allegorical,  where  literal  words  are  used  in  a  met- 
aphorical sense.  Quite  a  considerable  list  of  such  texts 
may  be  found  in  Broadus,  Part  I.,  Chapter  II.  Because 
this  is  often  done,  even  by  ministers  of  reputation,  the 
temptation  is  all  the  greater  for  the  young  preacher,  and 
he  must  the  more  carefully  guard  himself  against  it. 
That  man  assumes  a  fearful  responsibility  who  alters 
in  any  way  the  meaning  of  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  find  a  text  suitable  to  almost  any  emergency, 
containing  at  least  the  principle  which  is  involved ;  and 
when  there  is  a  special  occasion  which  calls  for  some 
special  lesson  it  were  better  for  the  preacher  to  confine 
himself  to  such  texts,  or  if  a  text  suitable  to  his  purpose 
is  not  to  be  found,  to  deliver  an  address  without  one, 
and  without  calling  it  a  sermon. 

There  is,  however,  a  certain  form  of  accommodation 
which  really  is  not  accommodation  at  all.  This  has  been 
already  foreshadowed  above  in  what  has  been  said  with 
regard  to  the  principle  contained  in  the  text  and  its  vari- 


PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT  39 

ous  uses.  Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull  was  singularly  expert 
in  such  a  use  of  texts.  This  appeared  particularly  while 
he  was  an  army  chaplain.  The  texts  used  by  him  in 
preaching  to  the  soldiers  in  the  field  are  most  appropri- 
ate, and  also  most  legitimate.  For  example,  he  preached 
on  a  certain  Thanksgiving-day  at  the  front,  when  a  battle 
seemed  to  be  imminent,  from  Ps.  23 :  5,  "Thou  prepar- 
est  a  table  before  me  in  the  presence  of  mine  enemies." 
Again,  after  a  defeat  of  the  Northern  arms,  and  when 
it  seemed  likely  that  the  disaster  might  be  repeated,  he 
preached  from  Ps.  60:12,  "Through  God  we  shall  do 
valiantly ;  for  he  it  is  that  shall  tread  down  our  enemies." 
And  on  one  occasion  he  preached,  with  reference  to  the 
disinclination  of  some  at  home  to  take  active  part  in  mili- 
tary service,  from  Numbers  32:6,  "Shall  your  brethren 
go  to  war,  and  shall  ye  sit  here?"  More  than  a  third  of 
this  last  sermon  was  explanatory  of  the  text  and  its 
surroundings,  yet  so  strong  was  it  in  its  argument  for 
patriotism  and  loyalty  to  the  government  that  it  was 
printed,  by  special  request  of  the  colonel  of  the  regiment, 
for  general  distribution. 

We  are  inclined  to  think,  however,  that  the  unin- 
tentional misuse  of  the  text  is  more  frequent  than  its 
intentional  misuse.  The  text  is  misinterpreted,  and  yet 
the  preacher  is  honest  and  earnest  in  his  very  misinter- 
pretation. It  may  be  well  to  note  some  of  the  reasons  for 
this  misinterpretation  of  the  text  and  its  consequent  mis- 
use. 

(i)  Beyond  all  question  the  most  frequent  source 
of  such  misuse  is  this,  that  the  text  has  not  been  carefully 
read,  and  read  in  its  connection.  In  dealing  with  stu- 
dents in  the  theological  seminary  and  their  mistaken 
work,  it  has  often  been  sufficient  to  say  to  them,  "Let 
me  read  that  text  to  you,"  and  by  its  deliberate,  careful. 


40  THE  STUDY 

and  emphatic  reading  the  meaning  has  been  made  to 
appear,  and  the  student  has  said  with  some  surprise, 
"I  did  not  so  understand  it,  but  now  I  see  the  error  I 
have  committed."  Ministers  of  considerable  experience 
are  sometimes  subjects  of  the  same  fault.  Because  of 
that  traditional  or  conventional  meaning  of  the  text  which 
has  been  fastened  upon  it,  the  preacher  often  jumps  to 
conclusions  which  it  would  have  been  impossible  for 
him  to  reach  had  he  read  his  text  as  though  it  were 
totally  unfamiliar  to  him,  and  he  must  be  at  pains  to 
discover  what  it  contains. 

The  text  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock," 
Revelation  3 :  20,  has  been  interpreted  by  many  to 
refer  to  the  Savior  as  standing  at  the  door  of  the  un- 
regenerate  sinner's  heart.  One  of  our  Christian  hymns 
is  written  upon  this  understanding  of  it.  No  doubt 
the  Savior  does  assume  such  an  attitude  at  the  door  of 
the  sinner's  heart,  but  the  epistle  from  which  this  dec- 
laration was  taken  was  addressed  to  professing  Chris- 
tian people — to  the  Angel  of  the  Church  in  Laodicea. 
The  beautiful  hymn  by  Bishop  Howe,  beginning  "O  Jesus, 
Thou  art  standing"  is  a  correct  interpretation: 

"Shame  on  us,  Christian  brothers, 
His  name  and  sign  who  bear, 
O  shame,  thrice  shame  upon  us, 
To  keep  Him  standing  there ! " 

Yet  the  writer  has  heard  this  hymn  ridiculed  in  a 
meeting  of  ministers  by  one  who  did  not  himself  under- 
stand the  passage  upon  which  it  was  founded. 

Sometimes,  strange  to  say,  a  text  is  misinterpreted 
by  omitting  a  single  word,  regarded  as  somewhat  un- 
important, but  by  which  omission  the  meaning  of  the 
text  is  altogether  altered.     Rom.  8 :  28,  "We  know  that 


PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT  41 

to  them  that  love  God  all  things  work  together  for  good, 
even  to  them  that  are  called  according  to  His  pur- 
pose," has  been  quoted  omitting  the  word  "together," 
thus  making  the  text  say  that  which  is  not  strictly  true, 
namely,  that  all  things  work  for  good.  The  text  does  not 
teach  the  working  of  single  circumstances  in  behalf  of 
the  called  of  God,  but  of  that  holy  conspiracy  of  events 
whereby  God  over-rules  all  things  for  the  good  of  His 
people. 

Sometimes  the  misinterpretation  of  the  text  is  con- 
ventional :  a  meaning  has  been  fastened  upon  it  by  com- 
mon but  mistaken  use,  which  is  accepted  even  by  the 
preacher  without  further  consideration.  This  is  notably 
the  case  in  Gen.  31:49,  "J^^ovah  watch  between  me 
and  thee,  when  we  are  absent  one  from  another." 
This  is  used  as  though  the  speaker  meant  that  Jehovah 
was  to  watch  between  those  that  were  separated  in  order 
to  bring  them  together  again,  which  is  exactly  what  the 
text  does  not  mean.  And  the  word  "Mizpah"  in  the  same 
connection,  by  which  name  Laban  called  the  heap  of 
stones  which  he  and  Jacob  gathered  together  for  a  wit- 
ness tower,  has  been  in  the  same  conventional  way  mis- 
applied. 

It  is,  therefore,  very  important  that  the  text  should 
be  read  carefully,  and  that  its  exact  phraseology  should 
be  minutely  understood.  One  of  the  worst  faults  that 
a  preacher  can  commit  is  to  err  through  sheer  care- 
lessness. 

(2)  The  text  is  unintentionally  misinterpreted  by 
failing  to  note  the  peculiarities  of  Scripture  language. 
Oriental  speech  is  different  in  many  ways  from  our 
Western  forms.  For  example,  hyperbole  is  frequently 
employed,  much  more  frequently  than  among  Western 
nations,  by  whom  it  is  generally  discountenanced.     In 


42  THE  STUDY 

Bible  phraseology,  language  may  sometimes  mean  more 
than  is  borne  upon  the  surface,  and  sometimes  less,  ac- 
cording to  circumstances.  When  the  Savior  says  that 
in  order  to  follow  Him  we  must  "hate"  father  and  mother, 
He  is  not  to  be  understood  as  He  would  have  been  had 
He  not  Himself  used  an  Orientalism,  Just  so  when  He 
bids  us  when  we  make  a  feast  to  "call  not"  our  friends 
and  rich  neighbors. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  also  that  the  translation  of 
one  language  into  another  is  always  attended  with  im- 
perfection. At  times  something  is  lost  thereby,  and  at 
other  times  something  is  added.  This  is  unavoidably  so. 
Because  there  often  is,  on  the  part  of  the  sacred  writer, 
a  struggle  to  express  thought.  It  is  impossible  for  his 
own  language  to  convey  in  full  the  ideas  that  are  surging 
through  his  mind.  He  uses  the  best  words  at  his  com- 
mand to  make  his  ideas  clear  and  intelligible,  but  even 
so  there  is  something  left  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader. 
Now  when  these  words  of  the  original  writer  are  trans- 
lated into  another  language,  the  lack  is  even  greater. 

There  are  also  peculiarities  of  an  idiomatic  character, 
in  which  there  is  a  certain  flavor  that  can  not  possibly 
be  conveyed  in  another  language  because  the  idioms  of 
one  language  do  not  correspond  with  those  of  another. 
Take,  for  example,  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan. 
There  are  words  in  it  which  illustrate  the  intensive  mean- 
ing which  was  attached  to  a  verb  in  the  Greek  by  the 
prefixing  of  a  preposition.  We  have  no  corresponding 
method  of  doing  this  in  the  English.  For  example,  the 
Good  Samaritan  instructed  the  innkeeper,  when  he  was 
about  to  leave  the  wounded  man,  whom  he  had  brought 
to  the  inn,  as  expressed  in  English,  "Take  care  of  him." 
Yet  the  verb  is  in  the  intensive  form  by  the  prefix  of  the 
preposition  'ctti.  The  Good  Samaritan  instructed  the  inn- 
keeper to  take  very  tender  care  of  him. 


PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT         43 

So  also  the  Greek  word  ^lAc'w  with  the  prefix  Kara 
means  not  simply  "to  kiss,"  but  to  kiss  frequently.  And 
in  that  other  parable  of  the  Savior  of  the  Prodigal  Son, 
we  are  told  that  the  father  "fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed 
him."  In  this  case  the  sense  is  communicated  by  the 
margin,  which  renders  the  word  "kissed  him  much." 

L,et  us  note  in  passing  that  herein  lies  one  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  original  study  of  the  text  in  the  languages 
in  which  it  is  written,  and  the  importance  of  the  preacher 
knowing  these  languages  in  a  deeper  and  better  way  than 
in  the  mere  ability  to  translate  them  into  English.  And 
the  preacher  who  has  some  knowledge  of  the  original 
should  never  fail  to  study  his  text  in  that  language  be- 
fore he  attempts  to  write  upon  it.  If  he  is  ignorant  of 
the  original  language  he  should  do  the  next  best  thing 
by  seeking  the  concordance  or  commentary  that  will  give 
him  the  best  understanding  of  the  original  flavor  and 
meaning. 

(3)  A  third  source  of  the  unintentional  misuse  of 
the  text  proceeds  from  the  disregarding  of  the  context. 
And  by  the  context  we  do  not  mean  those  verses  that 
are  immediately  associated  with  the  text.  It  may  be 
longer  or  shorter.  It  may  be  a  paragraph  or  the  entire 
book.  It  is  very  important  that  the  preacher  should  ob- 
tain the  author's  viewpoint,  and  understand  in  what  con- 
nection the  truth  was  spoken,  upon  which  he  proposes  to 
preach.  Sometimes  the  preacher  is  misled  by  chapter 
and  verse  divisions,  or  by  the  paragraphs  which  he  finds 
in  the  Bible  which  he  is  accustomed  to  use.  Fortunately 
for  the  preacher  of  to-day,  the  new  version  is  paragraphed 
much  more  satisfactorily  than  the  old  version  ever  was, 
but  the  chapter  and  verse  divisions  remain.  Sometimes 
the  preacher  takes  a  text,  confines  himself  to  it,  does  not 
look  far  enough  into  the  context  for  its  meaning,  and  so 
preaching  only  upon  that  which  the  text  itself  seems  to 


44  THE  STUDY 

convey,  he  misses  its  meaning  altogether.  For  example, 
I  Peter  i :  5,  which  reads  in  the  King  James  Version, 
"Who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto 
salvation,"  and  which  seems  to  be  very  plain  in  its  mean- 
ing, so  that  the  preacher  need  scarcely  look  further  in 
order  to  interpret  it,  may  be  misused  simply  because  the 
preacher  has  neglected  to  observe  that  Peter  in  his  epistle 
is  addressing  the  Christians  who  had  been  Jews  of  the 
Dispersion,  scattered  through  Asia  Minor.  His  entire 
epistle,  therefore,  has  a  Jewish  coloring,  and  in  the  verses 
from  which  this  text  is  taken  there  is  immediate  refer- 
ence to  the  ancient  hope  of  Israel,  as  it  was  associated 
with  the  promise  of  the  land  which  had  been  given  unto 
them,  and  into  which  they  entered  after  the  bondage  in 
Egypt.  But  the  hope  of  Israel  has  been  displaced  by  a 
larger  and  better  hope,  which  Peter  calls  in  the  third 
verse  a  "living  hope."  Therefore  in  the  fourth  verse 
the  "inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away"  is  in  his  mind  set  over  against  the  cor- 
ruptible inheritance  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  although  he 
makes  no  explicit  mention  of  it.  Likewise  "the  power  of 
God"  whereby  we  are  "kept  through  faith  unto  salva- 
tion" is  se^  over  against  that  power  of  God  by  which 
ancient  Israel  was  defended  from  all  their  enemies.  Of 
course  the  text  "Who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith  unto  salvation"  becomes  much  more  sig- 
nificant and  luminous  when  once  the  preacher  has  ob- 
tained the  viewpoint  of  the  writer. 

In  addition  to  the  three  sources  which  have  been  men- 
tioned, we  may  state  in  general  terms  that  the  text  is 
misinterpreted  unintentionally  for  lack  of  sufficient  knowl- 
edge of  Bible  history,  Bible  geography,  Bible  customs, 
and  the  various  nations  with  whom  the  Jews  were 
brought  into  contact.    It  may  also  be  misinterpreted  be- 


PREACHER'S  DUTY  BY  HIS  TEXT  45 

cause  those  ver}'  figurative  expressions  and  symbolic 
passages,  with  which  the  Scripture  abounds,  are  pressed 
too  far,  particularly  those  in  the  Old  Testament  which 
look  forward  to  their  completion  and  fulfillment  in  the 
New  Testament.  A  very  safe  rule  for  us  to  adopt  with 
regard  to  this  matter  is  to  go  no  farther  in  our  construc- 
tion of  the  figures  of  the  Old  Testament  than  the  New 
Testament  itself  does.  Where  it  is  made  plain  in  the 
New  Testament  that  a  certain  type  or  symbol  of  the  Old 
Testament  foreshadowed  a  definite  principle  or  duty,  we 
may  so  employ  it;  but  to  proceed  farther  is  to  involve 
ourselves  in  danger,  and  it  may  even  go  so  far  as  to  be- 
get a  strange  fanaticism.  It  might  also  be  said  that  most 
of  the  fads  and  isms  and  fanciful  theories  of  the  reli- 
gious life  which  have  been  produced  since  the  gospel  was 
first  preached,  have  been  the  result  of  improper  allegoriz- 
ing. 

6.  The  preacher's  duty  by  his  text  also  involves  a 
duty  which  he  owes  to  his  own  self.  He  is  to  maintain 
his  own  intellectual  integrity.  It  is  not  necessary  for 
liim  to  attempt  to  deduce  from  a  text  its  conventional  or 
traditional  meaning,  when  he  himself  is  not  altogether 
sure  that  it  is  indeed  the  meaning  of  the  text.  This  is 
a  form  of  intellectual  dishonesty ;  it  is  immoral,  and  no 
one  is  required  to  be  immoral  in  order  to  be  orthodox. 
Let  us  be  true  to  what  we  believe  God  says.  Let  us 
preach  nothing  of  which  we  are  not  fully  sure;  and  if 
we  are  in  serious  doubt  concerning  any  matter  let  us 
wait  for  light  and  seek  the  wisdom  which  God  in  due 
time  may  impart  to  us. 


TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS. 


TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS. 

Textual  analysis  defined. 

Its  value  to  the  preacher. 

First  of  all  dependent  on  illumination. 
Rules— 

1.  Note  the  meaning  of  every  word. 

2.  Note  the  relation  of  words  to  each  other. 

3.  Note  peculiar  forms  of  speech. 

4.  Compare  parallel  passages. 

5.  Classify  the  thoughts. 

6.  Paraphrase. 

7.  Select  a  subject.     Special  rules. 

8.  Note  the  relation  to  the  general  subject, 

9.  Divisions  of  tlic  subject. 
10.  Recapitulate. 


Read  Phelps'  "  Theory  of  Preaching,"  Lectures  V  and  VI ;"  Garvie's  "  Guldt 
to  Preachers,"  III;  CampbeU  Morgan's  "The  Knglish  Bible." 


III. 

TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS. 

How  shall  the  preacher  obtain  that  full  and  exact 
meaning  of  his  text  of  which  we  have  spoken  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter?    We  proceed  to  answer. 

Textual  analysis  for  homiletical  purposes  is  the  care- 
ful examination  of  all  the  parts  of  a  given  passage  of 
Scripture  with  a  view  of  determining,  (i)  their  separate 
meaning,  (2)  their  mutual  relations,  and  (3)  the  specific 
meaning  and  import  of  the  passage  as  a  whole. 

This  work  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  textual  criti- 
cism of  any  kind.  It  employs  its  results,  but  does  not 
make  use  of  its  processes.  We  do  not  study  about  the 
Bible  in  order  to  ascertain  what  its  true  text  may  be ;  but 
we  take  the  text  which  has  been  furnished  to  us  by  the 
most  competent  authorities  and  dissect  it  in  order  to  ob- 
tain our  homiletical  material.  This  corresponds  in  a 
measure  to  what  is  known  in  ordinary  rhetoric  as  "in- 
vention"— the  search  for  seed-thought  and  its  discovery. 
It  is  the  way  to  sermonizing.  The  sermon  is  its  final 
product. 

Textual  analysis  is  the  condition  and  groundwork  of 
all  good  preaching.  Dr.  Campbell  Morgan  says  with  re- 
gard to  it,  "I  can  not  too  earnestly  urge  the  importance 
of  studying  the  Bible  analytically  and  of  refusing  to 
abandon  a  passage  until  its  real  sense  is  understood."  We 
are  to  "preach  the  Word."  All  good  preaching  is  Scrip- 
tural.    In  fact  that  which  is  not  Scriptural  is  unworthy 

49 


50  THE  STUDY 

the  name.  It  is  the  purpose  of  textual  analysis  to  find 
what  is  in  Scripture  for  the  preacher's  use. 

The  lack  of  the  analytical  faculty  is  a  frequent  source 
of  failure  in  the  pulpit.  Either  the  preacher  runs  short 
of  homiletical  material,  or  he  supplies  the  lack  by  depart- 
ing from  the  Scripture  in  whole  or  in  part  and  resorting 
to  other  sources.  A  young  minister  once  remarked  to 
an  older  one,  "I  fear  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  continue 
in  the  pulpit."  "Why  so?"  "Because  I  have  exhausted 
all  my  material.  I  have  preached  upon  all  the  subjects 
I  can  think  of."  "Suppose,  then,"  said  the  elder,  "you 
now  begin  to  preach  upon  texts."  The  young  man  per- 
ceived his  mistake  and  was  led  to  apprehend  the  proper 
method  to  his  immediate  relief  and  his  subsequent  mani- 
fest growth. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  preacher  can  fail,  however 
modest  his  abilities,  who  adopts  the  method  of  textual 
analysis  and  diligently  pursues  it  in  the  preparation  of 
every  sermon.  His  homiletical  material  will  increase 
more  rapidly  than  he  can  employ  it.  Many  passages  of 
Scripture  will  yield  not  simply  a  single  sermon,  but  will 
suggest  a  number.  Familiar  texts  will  bring  forth  un- 
familiar lessons  and  reveal  new  truths.  They  will  urge 
themselves  upon  the  preacher's  mind  with  unusual  force 
and  present  aspects  of  which  he  never  dreamed.  His 
congregation  will  be  continually  edified  and  often  remark 
as  they  once  did  of  the  Savior,  "We  never  saw  it  on 
this  fashion."  (Mark  2:  12.) 

In  what  then  does  the  art  of  textual  analysis  reside? 

First  of  all,  it  is  derived  from  the  blessing  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  whose  aid  the  preacher  may  confidently  in- 
voke. He  will  seek  that  illumination  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken,  which,  while  it  is  distinguished  from  in- 
spiration, is  often  productive  of  similar  results.     There 


TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS  51 

is  no  new  truth  revealed,  but  such  light  is  shed  upon  the 
old  truth  that  it  has  the  meaning  and  power  of  a  fresh 
revelation. 

In  order  to  this  the  preacher  will  endeavor  to  find  that 
meaning  of  his  text  which  is  concealed  from  the  unde- 
vout,  the  "natural  man."  but  which  is  made  known  to  the 
spiritually-minded,  simple-hearted  student  of  the  Word 
of  God.  This  is  always  its  simplest  and  most  natural 
meaning,  only  it  is  not  seen  by  eyes  that  are  willfully 
blinded  nor  understood  by  minds  that  are  unwilling  to  be 
taught. 

We  seek  therefore  the  illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
How  are  we  to  do  so?  When  may  we  hope  to  obtain  it? 
When  we  employ  the  means  that  are  in  accord  with  the 
method  of  His  operation;  when  we  honor  the  Word  of 
God ;  and  then  endeavor  to  ascertain  its  meaning  accord- 
ing to  the  recognized  laws  of  human  speech. 

The  analysis  of  the  text  may  proceed  upon  the  follow- 
ing plan.  Begin  at  once  with  the  text  itself.  The 
preacher  need  employ  no  commentary  whatsoever,  at 
least  until  his  own  analysis  has  been  completed,  when  he 
may  seek  further  help  in  the  development  of  his  sermon 
work.,  He  may  bring  to  his  aid  at  the  first  only  a  refer- 
ence Bible,  a  Bible  dictionary,  a  concordance  and  maps. 
He  then  proceeds  to  study  the  passage  under  review,  in 
the  following  order: 

I.  First  note  the  meaning  of  every  word ;  its  mean- 
ing in  the  original  language.  If  he  can  not  himself  read 
the  original,  there  are  certain  works  at  hand  from  which 
he  may  derive  the  original  signification  of  the  word.  He 
is  not  to  be  satisfied  with  the  English  equivalent  of  the 
word;  because  it  is  often  impossible  accurately  to  trans- 
late the  word  of  another  language,  so  that  its  exact  sense 
and,  more  particularly,  its  precise  flavor  shall  be  per- 


52  THE  STUDY 

celved.  This  rule  also  applies  to  those  words  in  the 
Greek  which  are  translations  or  substitutes  of  certain 
words  in  the  Hebrew.  He  is  to  note  the  meaning  of 
every  word.  There  are  none  so  insignificant  that  he  can 
afford  to  pass  them  by.  Sometimes  it  would  seem  as 
though  the  word  had  no  special  meaning  apart  from  that 
which  is  ordinarily  associated  with  it  in  the  reader's  mind. 
This  was  particularly  true  of  the  King  James  Version, 
where  the  same  care  was  not  exercised  which  has  been 
shown  in  recent  revisions  of  the  Bible,  particularly  the 
American  Standard  Revision.  For  example,  the  word 
"will"  is  sometimes  an  auxiliary  verb  used  only  to  indi- 
cate the  future  tense.  At  other  times  it  is  the  translation 
of  a  word  which  means  "to  will"  or  "to  desire."  For 
example,  John  7:  17,  "If  any  man  will  do  His  will"  in 
the  old  version  is  made  clear  by  the  translation  of  the 
revision,  "If  any  man  willeth  to  do  His  will,  he  shall 
know  of  the  teaching,  whether  it  is  of  God,  or  whether 
I  speak  from  myself."  So  with  the  word  "now."  Some- 
times it  is  a  conjunction.  "Remember  now  thy  Creator 
in  the  days  of  thy  youth."  (King  James  Version.)  In 
such  a  case  no  particular  importance  is  attached  to  it. 
At  other  times  it  is  an  adverb  and  means  "at  this  very 
present  time."  Romans  8:  i,  "There  is  therefore  now 
no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  These 
distinctions  also  appear  in  a  great  many  passages  where 
words  that  ordinarily  appear  of  trivial  consequence  are 
invested  w^ith  great  meaning.  There  are  some  special 
words  which  must  be  minutely  examined;  for  example: 

(i)  The  diflferent  names  of  God,  and  the  force  which 
they  possess  in  the  original — "Jehovah,"  "God  Al- 
mighty," etc. 

(2)  The  terms  which  are  applied  to  the  people  of 
God — "believers,"  "disciples,"  "saints,"  etc.     A  serious 


TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS  53 

mistake  has  been  made  by  certain  men  in  interpreting 
Acts  19:  I,  where  the  word  "disciples"  is  used,  and  where 
it  is  supposed  they  were  Christian  disciples,  as  they  were 
not;  but  only  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist. 

(3)  Terms  defining  peculiar  relations,  such  as  "cove- 
nant," "promise,"  "sons,"  "portion,"  "heirs,"  etc.  For 
example,  the  word  "promise"  when  it  is  preceded  by  the 
definite  article,  ("the  promise"),  has  a  very  different 
meaning  from  that  which  obtains  when  it  stands  alone. 

(4)  Terms  defining  special  conditions — "flesh," 
"spirit,"  "natural,"  "spiritual."  If  the  preacher  has  al- 
ready learned  to  define  his  Scripture  terms  with  precision, 
he  will  not  likely  be  led  astray  with  regard  to  such  words. 

(5)  It  is  of  great  importance  that  the  analyst  should 
give  good  attention  to  the  various  forms  of  words — tenses, 
moods,  cases  and  so  on ;  derivative  words,  figurative  ex- 
pressions, and  the  like. 

II.  Note  the  relation  of  each  word  to  every  other 
word.  The  special  meaning  of  the  passage  is  often  de- 
termined by  this  relation.  The  very  meaning  of  a  par- 
ticular word  may  be  changed  when  it  is  brought  into 
special  relation  with  some  other  word ;  for  example : 

( 1 )  The  same  word  in  the  original  translated  by  two 
different  words  in  English. 

(2)  Different  words  in  the  original  translated  by  the 
same  word  in  English. 

(3)  The  same  word  occurring  twice  in  the  same  pas- 
sage, and  manifestly  so  used,  as  the  careful •  student  will 
discover,  for  a  special  purpose.  For  example,  in  the 
fourth  chapter  of  John  we  have  an  account  of  the  Savior's 
conversation  with  the  woman  of  Samaria.  The  word 
"well"  occurs  in  this  passage  five  times.  It  is  translated 
by  this  same  English  word  in  every  case,  but  two  differ- 
ent Greek  words  are  employed.    The  one  which  the  wo- 


54  THE  STUDY 

man  uses  indicates  only  a  pit  or  cistern  in  which  water 
is  contained.  The  one  which  Jesus  uses  indicates  the 
source  of  a  perpetual  spring.  The  greater  part  of  the 
force  of  His  teaching  in  this  case  depends  upon  under- 
standing the  meaning  of  these  two  words,  though  they 
are  the  same  word  in  the  English  translation.  The  wo- 
man says,  "Thou  hast  nothing  to  draw  with,  and  the  well 
is  deep."  Jesus  replies,  "The  water  that  I  shall  give  him 
shall  become  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  unto 
eternal  life."  Again,  in  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son, 
the  Greek  word  "fiaKpav'  is  found  twice.  It  is  the  same 
word  in  the  Greek.  It  may  be  an  adjective  in  one  case 
and  an  adverb  in  the  other,  or  an  adverb  in  both  cases. 
We  can  not  determine  this  from  the  exact  form  of  the 
word.  It  is  rendered  into  English  as  though  it  was  at 
first  an  adjective  and  afterwards  an  adverb,  but  the  form 
in  the  Greek  is  exactly  the  same.  But  this  same  Greek 
word  is  translated  in  the  one  case  "took  his  journey 
into  a  far  country,"  and  in  the  other  case  "while  he  was 
yet  afar  off."  The  careful  student  will  be  led  to  believe 
inasmuch  as  it  is  the  same  word  in  the  Greek,  that  while 
the  prodigal  was  still  in  the  far  country  his  father  saw 
him,  and  not  after  he  had  made  a  long  and  tedious 
journey  towards  his  home.  These  are  but  meager  illus- 
trations of  the  advantage  which  ensues  from  a  careful 
study  of  every  word  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  found  in 
the  Scripture. 

TIL  Note  peculiar  forms  of  speech,  especially  those 
that  are  characteristic  of  the  author  of  the  passage — hy- 
perbole, antithesis,  allegorical  expressions,  forms  of 
speech  peculiar  to  the  author's  age  of  the  world  or  the 
community  in  which  he  lived,  and  expressions  which  are 
favorite  ones  with  the  author.  A  large  number  of  illus- 
trations might  be  given;  the  Apostle  Paul's  reference, 


TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS  55 

for  example,  to  Roman  citizenship  and  Roman  customs ; 
the  favorite  "straightway"  of  the  Evangelist  Mark,  and 
the  philosophic  expressions  of  the  Apostle  John.  Wher- 
ever such  peculiar  expressions  are  found  they  should  be 
examined  and  their  meaning  and  force  distinctly  under- 
stood. 

IV.  The  passage  is  to  be  compared  with  parallel 
passages.  Scripture  is  its  own  best  interpreter.  There 
are  very  few  passages  of  Scripture  which  are  absolutely 
repeated  in  two  places.  In  very  many  instances  passages 
which  seem  much  alike  are  found  to  possess  features  that 
are  very  unlike,  as  for  example  the  two  miracles  of  the 
draft  of  fishes,  and  therefore  when  placed  in  contrast 
with  each  other  afford  unusual  instruction. 

We  should  understand  what  a  parallel  passage  really 
is.  Many  are  misled  by  the  mere  sound  of  words,  or 
■by  the  fact  that  one  passage  contains  some  reference  to 
a  certain  virtue  or  doctrine  which  the  other  also  possesses. 
Many  so-called  "Bible  Readings"  are  founded  upon  this 
kind  of  parallelism,  which  really  yields  nothing  of  any 
special  importance.  But  parallel  passages  are  those  which 
convey  analogous  truth.  Their  comparison  is  of  im- 
mense value.  Often  it  is  indispensable.  Sometimes  the 
teaching  of  one  passage  may  be  disputed,  and  therefore 
the  preacher  may  be  left  in  the  dark  with  regard  to  cer- 
tain elements  of  its  teaching  until  it  is  placed  side  by  side 
with  another  passage  in  which  the  viewpoint  is  much 
the  same,  or  the  lesson  to  be  taught  is  much  the  same, 
when  the  ambiguity  entirely  disappears,  and  the  uncer- 
tainty of  its  meaning  is  removed.  The  parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son,  for  example,  has  given  rise  to  much  dis- 
pute as  to  whom  the  Savior  referred  in  the  younger  son 
and  the  elder  son.  All  sorts  of  interpretations  have  been 
offered  with  regard  to  this  question.     Some  have  even 


56  THE  STUDY 

supposed  that  by  the  younger  son  the  Savior  referred 
to  the  human  race,  and  by  the  elder  son  to  the  angels. 
A  strictly  parallel  passage,  however,  is  found  in  the  par- 
able of  the  Two  Sons  in  Matt.  21,  to  whom  the  father 
addressed  the  command,  "Son,  go  work  to-day  in  the 
vineyard."  In  this  case  the  Savior  Himself  indicated  to 
whom  He  referred  when  He  said,  "Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
that  the  publicans  and  the  harlots  go  into  the  Kingdom 
of  God  before  you."  We  turn  again,  therefore,  to  the 
parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son,  and  we  find  that  it  is  intro- 
duced with  the  words :  "Now  all  the  publicans  and  sinners 
were  drawing  near  unto  Him  to  hear  Him.  And  both 
the  Pharisees  and  the  scribes  murmured,  saying,  This 
man  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth  with  them."  The  par- 
allel passage,  taken  in  connection  with  the  introduction 
to  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son,  determines  who  the 
Savior  had  in  mind. 

The  value  of  a  careful  use  of  parallel  passages  can  not 
be  overestimated.  If  one  would  be  a  Scriptural  preacher, 
he  must  needs  employ  them,  and  much  of  his  skill  will  be 
determined  by  the  use  of  which  he  makes  of  them.  But 
they  should  always  be  consulted  by  the  sermonizer  before 
his  sermon  is  begun. 

V.  Write  down  all  the  ideas  conveyed  by  the  passage. 
Classify  them — teachings,  truths,  duties,  graces,  and  so 
on.  Arrange  them  in  proper  order.  Show  their  mutual 
relations.  Summarize  and  unify  them.  This  may  take 
considerable  time,  but  it  should  be  done  by  all  means. 

VI.  Paraphrase  the  passage.  This  is  not  always 
necessary,  but  it  is  of  special  use  in  the  introduction  to 
a  narrative  or  descriptive  sermon,  in  which  the  historical 
incidents  which  are  associated  with  it  are  to  be  set  before 
the  congregation.  It  is  not  sufficient  for  the  preacher  to 
repeat  the  story  in  the  very  words  of  Scripture.    He  is 


TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS  57 

so  to  rehearse  them  as  to  interpret  them,  modernize  them 
— setting  the  situation  before  his  hearers  as  it  would  ap- 
pear to  their  own  eyes  at  the  present  day.  Moreover,  it 
indicates  his  understanding  of  the  passage.  What  God 
has  said  to  him  in  the  words  or  Scripture,  he  says  back 
to  God  again,  as  it  were,  in  his  own  language,  so  indicat- 
ing his  understanding  of  it.  The  sermonizer  is  now  pre- 
pared to  begin  the  construction  of  his  discourse. 

VII.  Select  so  much  of  the  given  passage  as  will 
furnish  a  complete  subject.  The  passage  itself,  there- 
fore, should  be  complete;  not  an  imperfect  or  fragmen- 
tary statement.  It  may  be  a  question,  but  if  so  it  must 
be  a  question  which  plainly  suggests  its  answer,  or  with 
the  answer  as  given,  if  it  be  so.  Take,  for  example,  the 
text  from  James  4 :  14,  "What  is  your  life  ?"  It  is  not 
infrequently  preached  upon,  but  it  is  not  a  suitable  text 
because  it  is  fragmentary,  incomplete.  The  question  may 
be  answered  out  of  the  preacher's  own  mind  in  a  great 
many  different  ways,  and  may  be  so  answered  as  to  be 
false  to  the  passage  in  which  the  question  is  contained. 
Let  us  add  to  it  the  following  words  of  the  passage: 
"What  is  your  life?  For  ye  are  a  vapor  that  appeareth 
for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away.''  This  is  com- 
plete, but  in  view  of  the  passage  from  which  it  is  derived 
it  has  not  that  measure  of  completeness  which  it  should 
possess  for  the  preacher.  Let  us  add  to  it  again.  "Come 
now,  ye  that  say,  To-day  or  to-morrow  we  will  go  into 
this  city,  and  spend  a  year  there,  and  trade,  and  get  gain : 
whereas  ye  know  not  what  shall  be  on  the  morrow.  What 
is  your  life?  For  ye  are  a  vapor  that  appeareth  for  a 
little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away."  This  is  still  better, 
but  not  yet  so  full  as  it  should  be.  The  entire  connection 
from  the  thirteenth  verse  to  the  fifteenth  should  be  in- 
cluded in  the  text,  adding  to  what  we  have  already  quoted 


58  THE  STUDY 

the  words,  "For  that  ye  ought  to  say,  If  the  Lord  will, 
we  shall  both  live,  and  do  this  or  that."  Indeed,  it  would 
not  be  amiss  for  the  preacher  to  add  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  verses  also.  It  is  not  meant  hereby  that  the 
preacher  must  always  select  a  number  of  verses,  or  a 
somewhat  extended  text.  Some  texts  are  complete  which 
contain  ver}'-  few  words.  The  number  of  words  is  not 
important. 

While  a  short  text  can  more  easily  be  borne  in  mind 
by  the  listener  than  a  long  one,  it  is  quite  sure  to  pass  out 
of  the  mind  if  it  be  so  short  that  it  does  not  convey  a 
clear  and  comprehensive  thought.  If  the  text  is  very 
brief,  as  it  may  sometimes  be,  it  should  be  fully  illumina- 
ting and  suggestive.  Some  such  texts  are  proposed  by 
Dr.  Slattery,  for  example,  "The  God  of  hope,"  "Redeem- 
ing the  time,"  "Called  to  be  saints,"  "Christ  pleased  not 
Himself,"  etc.  Garvie  says  a  text  need  not  be  one  verse, 
it  may  be  more  or  less;  just  as  much  or  little  as  may 
serve  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  chosen,  and  as  the  liter- 
ary, historical,  or  logical  character  of  the  passage  from 
which  it  is  taken  may  demand.  A  whole  parable  or  a 
whole  psalm,  if  possessing  the  necessary  unity,  may  be 
the  text,  yet  a  single  verse  may  be  sufficient  to  suggest 
a  subject.  Dr.  Hoyt,  while  expressing  his  decided  prefer- 
ence for  short  texts  because,  as  he  says,  they  allow  for 
"emphatic  repetition"  and  are  "more  likely  to  result  in 
concise  and  effective  sermons,"  yet  expresses  himself  in 
the  very  terms  we  have  employed.  "The  text  should  be 
a  complete  thought  of  Scripture.  Respect  for  the  sacred 
writers  demands  this,  for  the  inspiration  of  Scripture  is 
not  only  speculative  theory.  To  cut  up  the  Scripture 
like  so  much  merchandise,  in  lengths  to  suit  the  user,  is 
treating  it  as  we  should  be  ashamed  to  treat  any  other 
book." 


TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS  59 

The  tendency  of  the  pulpit  generally  seems  to  be 
rather  in  favor  of  shorter  texts  than  of  longer  ones,  but 
we  think  it  is  a  mistaken  tendency.  Very  frequently  the 
preacher's  sermon  would  have  been  better  if  his  text  had 
been  longer.  The  abbreviation  of  a  passage  of  Scripture 
is  often  its  positive  mutilation.  It  does  not  appear  to 
carry  the  meaning  with  which  it  is  invested  when  the 
complete  thought  of  the  sacred  writer  is  given  to  the 
congregation. 

The  text  should  be  comprehensive  as  well  as  complete. 
This  means  not  only  that  it  is  a  finished  thought,  but  that 
it  is  a  thought  inclusive  of  a  certain  number  of  thoughts 
closely  related  one  to  the  other,  or  intimately  associated 
in  their  bearing  on  doctrine  or  life.  '  John  Claude,  who 
may  be  called  "The  father  of  Protestant  homiletics," 
among  the  excellent  things  which  he  says  in  his  essay 
upon  the  composition  of  a  sermon,  remarks  that  a  text 
should  "include  the  complete  sense  of  the  writer  whose 
words  they  are"  upon  the  subject  presented  in  the  pass- 
age. He  says:  "For  example,  should  you  take  these 
words  of  2  Cor.  i :  3,  'Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  mercies  and  God 
of  all  comfort,'  and  stop  here,  you  would  include  a  com- 
plete sense,  but  it  would  not  be  the  apostle's  sense. 
Should  you  go  further  and  add  'who  comforteth  us  in 
all  our  affliction,'  it  would  not  then  be  the  complete 
sense  of  St.  Paul,  nor  would  his  meaning  be  wholly  taken 
in  unless  you  went  on  to  the  end  of  the  fourth  verse. 
When  the  complete  sense  of  the  sacred  writer  is  taken 
you  may  stop."  This  comprehension  is  required  in  a 
text,  else  it  is  virtually  as  incomplete  as  that  kind  of  text 
to  which  we  referred  in  section  one.  The  presentation 
of  the  truth  is  fragmentary,  though  the  text  itself  may 
contain  a  complete  thought,  and  being  fragmentary  it  is 
incorrect.    But  in  order  that  the  text  should  be  compre- 


6o  THE  STUDY 

hensive  it  must  not  be  too  simple  or  axiomatic,  as  for  ex- 
ample the  text,  "All  unrighteousness  is  sin."  Here  there 
is  a  single  proposition  which  the  preacher  will  find  diffi- 
cult to  elaborate  in  any  way.  Nor  must  it  be  too  large 
and  inclusive,  as  for  example  the  text,  "God  is  love." 
Those  texts  that  limit  the  broad  and  general  statements 
in  some  statement  which  is  still  comprehensive  and  sug- 
gestive, usually  furnish  the  richest  sermons,  as  for  ex- 
ample ;  in  connection  with  the  love  of  God,  "God  com- 
mendeth  His  own  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were 
yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us." 

The  text  being  determined,  the  preacher  will  then 
proceed  to  express  his  subject.  It  should  be  derived 
from  the  passage ;  it  should  have  immediate  reference  to 
it ;  it  should  embrace  in  epitome  all  that  is  to  be  embraced 
in  the  sermon.  It  should  be  a  veritable  theme,  not  a  mere 
title.  It  should  not  be  complex,  but  simple,  and  it  should 
be  intelligently  expressed. 

VIII.  Note  the  relation  of  this  special  subject  which 
is  derived  from  the  text  to  the  general  subject  of  the 
passage  from  which  the  text  is  taken :  it  should  be  in  har- 
mony therewith.  If  one  is  to  write  upon  the  text,  "What 
is  your  life?  For  ye  are  a  vapor  that  appeareth  for  a 
little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away,"  his  sermon  must 
be  in  keeping  with  the  trend  of  the  entire  paragraph, 
which  was  written  to  prevent  self-confidence  and  our 
foolish  boasting,  and  to  teach  humble  dependence  upon 
the  pleasure  of  Almighty  God. 

IX.  The  value  of  the  analysis  which  the  preacher  has 
made  will  now  appear  in  the  division  of  his  subject.  The 
material  which  he  has  derived  from  the  passage  by  his 
minute  study  of  it  will  furnish  him  with  his  divisions  and 
his  application.  This  matter,  however,  will  be  more  par- 
ticularly treated  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

X.  Finally,  the  preacher  should  recapitulate,  not  sim- 


TEXTUAL  ANALYSIS  6i 

ply  to  repeat  what  lias  already  been  said,  but  to  gather 
up  that  which  he  has  derived  from  his  text  in  intelligent, 
practical  terms,  wherein  the  distinct  lesson  of  the  text  is 
enforced  and  the  duty  of  observing  it. 

Let  us  sum  up  what  has  been  said  above  in  the  follow- 
ing words  from  Dr.  Shedd  :  ''Originality  is  not  the  power 
of  making  a  communication  of  truth,  but  of  apprehend- 
ing one.  Two  great  communications  have  been  made  to 
him :  the  one  in  the  book  of  nature  and  the  other  in  the 
book  of  revelation.  If  truth  has  been  conveyed  he  is  the 
most  original  thinker  who  is  most  successful  in  reading 
it  just  as  it  reads  and  expounding  it  just  as  it  stands.  If 
truth  has  been  imparted  by  special  revelation  he  is  the 
original  thinker  who  is  most  successful  in  its  interpreta- 
tion— who  is  most  accurate  in  analyzing  its  living  ele- 
ments, and  most  genial  and  cordial  in  receiving  them 
into  his  own  mental  and  moral  being."  So  he  says: 
"There  has  been  no  creation  but  only  a  development,  no 
absolute  authorship  but  only  an  explication.  Yet  how 
fresh  and  original  has  been  the  mental  process !  There 
has  been  all  the  enthusiasm,  all  the  stimulation,  all  the 
flow  of  life  and  feeling  that  attends  the  discovery  of  a 
new  continent  or  a  new  star. 

"Then  feels  lie  like  some  watcher  of  the  skies 
When  a  new  planet  swims  into  his  ken ; 

Or  like  stout  Cortez,  when  with  eagle  eyes 
He  stared  at  the  Pacific  and  all  his  men 

Looked  at  each  other  with  a  wild  surmise 
Silent,  upon  a  peak  in  Darien." 


PLANNING  THE  SERMON. 


PLANNING  THE  SERMON. 


I.  Importance  of  arrangement. 

1.  To  the  preacher. 

2.  To  the  people. 

II.  Fundamental  qualities. 

1.  Unity. 

2.  Organization. 

3.  Progress. 


Read  Howson's  "Hiuts,"  in  Bishop  EIHcott'i  "  Homiletical  and  Pastoral 
Lectures;"  Dyke's  "Christian  Minister,"  Chap.  XXI;  Slattery'« 
"Present  Day  Preaching,"  I. 


IV. 
PLANNING  THE  SERMON. 

When  the  text  has  been  finally  determined  and  the 
passage  from  which  it  is  taken  carefully  analyzed,  the 
preacher  will  begin  the  formal  work  of  sermon  construc- 
tion. He  will  attempt  to  arrange  his  thoughts  upon  some 
consistent  and  orderly  plan. 

I.  The  importance  of  logical  arrangement.  It  has 
been  said  again  and  again  by  writers  upon  rhetoric  that 
it  is  arrangement  which  makes  a  discourse,  and  some 
have  counseled  it  with  a  degree  of  iteration  most  em- 
phatic. It  is  indeed  true  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
a  discourse  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  word  without  ar- 
rangement, and  more  than  this — without  proper  arrange- 
ment. A  collection  of  ideas,  however  well  they  may  be 
separately  expressed,  is  no  more  a  discourse  than  a  col- 
lection of  materials,  however  good,  is  a  building,  or  a 
company  in  uniform,  however  fine,  is  an  army.  It  is 
perhaps  a  frequent  fault  in  sermonizing  that  the  material 
is  misarranged  even  when  some  attempt  has  been  made 
to  arrange  it.  Dean.Howson,  in  one  of  his  admirable 
essays,  divides  sermons  into  two  classes,  borrowing  as 
he  says  an  image  from  natural  history.  He  calls  them 
"vertebrate"  and  "moUuscan,"  and  continues,  "I  have 
heard  some  discourses  from  the  pulpit  which  might  have 
been  turned  round  with  little  disadvantage,  and  preached 
from  the  end  almost  as  well  as  from  the  beginning;  but 
sermons  of  the  molluscan  kind  produce  little  impression 

65 


66  THE  STUDY 

on  the  congregation  for  this  reason,  that  it  is  impossiblo 
to  attend  to  them."  And  again:  "In  a  good  sermon 
there  must  be  a  skeleton,  though  the  skeleton  need  not  be 
seen.  By  all  means  make  use  of  abundant  drapery  if  you 
please,  but  be  sure  there  is  a  true  skeleton  underneath. 
The  richest  drapery  placed  upon  a  mere  stick  is  only  a 
scarecrow."  Slattery  says,  "The  amorphous  thing  called 
a  sermon  may  arouse  a  certain  flutter  of  passing  emotion, 
as  a  bell  which  has  been  ringing  for  twenty  minutes,  but 
it  is  not  likely  to  leave  any  important  lesson  behind." 
He  draws  a  parallel  between  Robertson  upon  one  side 
of  the  Atlantic  and  Phillips  Brooks  upon  the  other.  He 
says :  "Brooks  always  said  vital  and  illuminating  things 
through  his  sermons,  but  there  was  not  the  angular  struc- 
ture of  Robertson's  sermons  which  tells  of  strength  and 
growth.  The  sermons  that  people  will  read  are  some 
indication  of  what  sort  of  sermons  will  help  people  in 
our  day."  So  Robertson  continues  to  be  read  more  than 
Brooks,  although  the  latter  was  in  his  time  the  greater 
pulpit  orator,  and  filled  a  larger  place. 

1.  Arrangement  is  important  to  the  preacher  himself 
to  begin  with.  It  stimulates  his  thought,  it  promotes 
ideas  and  so  affects  the  preacher's  own  interest  and  en- 
thusiasm in  his  subject.  "It  grows  upon  him."  The  very 
arrangement  of  his  ideas  provokes  the  incoming  of  other 
ideas,  and  leads  to  that  careful  discrimination  in  the  re- 
lation of  ideas  which  alone  deserves  the  name  of  thought. 

2.  It  is  equally  important  also  to  the  audience.  It 
renders  the  preacher's  discourse  both  more  intelligible 
and  more  instructive.  The  listener  is  very  much  more 
likely  to  be  pleased  and  profited  when  he  is  able  to  mark 
the  stages  of  growth  which  are  found  in  the  sermon  plan. 
Every  one  admires  orderly  thinking.  There  is  a  pleasure 
in  procession,  the  "getting  somewhere."     In  this  age  of 


PLANNING  THE  SERMON  67 

the  world  we  like  to  get  there  rapidly,  without  being 
delayed  too  long  upon  the  way.  It  is  a  day  of  fast  loco- 
motion, and  so  long  as  the  locomotion  is  not  perilous  it 
is  every  way  profitable.    Even  so  in  sermonizing. 

But  the  audience  is  more  than  pleased;  it  is  also  per- 
suaded. Some  have  even  declared  that  arrangement  is 
the  first  element  in  eloquence  rather  than  "magnetism," 
so-called,  or  manner,  or  any  such  thing.  Cicero  defined 
eloquence  as  "the  continuous  movement  of  the  soul." 
Certainly  if  eloquence  consists  in  carrying  the  audience, 
it  can  not  be  accomplished  without  proper  arrangement. 

And  once  more  the  importance  to  the  audience  re- 
sides in  the  fact  that  the  impression  created  by  such  a 
sermon  is  more  likely  to  be  abiding.  A  well  arranged 
sermon  is  the  only  kind  of  discourse  which  is  ever  re- 
membered. It  is  true  that  the  audience  may  remember 
brilliant  sayings  or  striking  epigrams,  introduced  into 
the  body  of  a  discourse  which  is  poorly  arranged,  but 
they  will  not  remember  its  governing  thought.  Whereas, 
while  they  may  never  be  able  to  recall  particular  details 
of  the  persuasive  sermon,  its  movement  and  purpose  will 
abide  and  it  will  have  done  its  work  in  the  instruction 
of  their  minds  and  the  molding  of  their  characters. 

II.  On  what  principle  then  is  a  sermon  to  be  ar- 
ranged? What  are  the  fundamental  qualities  of  dis- 
course? They  are  usually  given  as  three,  though  they 
are  not  always  stated  in  the  same  terms.  By  all  writers 
unity  is  put  first,  and  there  is  no  disagreement  with  re- 
gard to  the  term.  The  second  is  usually  called  order, 
and  the  third  movement,  or  proportion,  or  something  of 
the  like.  We  prefer  to  designate  them  as,  (i)  unity; 
(2)  organization;  and  (3)  progress.    Let  us  define  them. 

I.  Unity.  Some  writers  seem  to  have  some  difficulty 
in  defining  this  term,  though  all  have  evidently  the  same 


68  THE  STUDY 

idea  of  what  it  really  is.  Hoyt  does  not  really  define  it 
at  all,  although  he  says  it  is  singleness  of  idea,  not  same- 
ness of  idea,  and  proceeds  through  several  sentences  with 
his  explanation.  Slattery  says  unity  "implies  diversity 
within  itself.  When  the  diversity  is  so  arranged  as  to 
lead  straight  on  to  the  center  and  pith  of  a  subject"  that 
is  unity.  We  define  unity  as  that  quality  of  a  discourse 
whereby  -each  part  bears  the  same  or  a  similar  relation 
to  the  subject,  and  also  to  every  other  part.  Unity  for- 
bids our  growing  figs  upon  thistles,  or  in  any  other  way 
bringing  those  things  together  which  are  unrelated.  A 
"monster"  in  the  old  mythology  was  a  being  with  in- 
congruous organs,  like  the  centaur  or  the  minotaur.  It 
was  not  physiologically  possible  for  a  man's  head  and 
shoulders  to  rest  upon  the  body  of  a  horse,  nor  is  it 
rhetorically  possible  to  bring  together  such  incongruities 
in  a  discourse,  and  the  sermon  in  which  this  is  done  is 
monstrous.  Therefore,  in  planning  the  sermon  it  must 
be  so  arranged  as  that  the  parts  shall  be  fitly  associated 
together.  The  sermonizer  should  frequently  ask  himself, 
Does  this  idea  proceed  from  the  same  general  source  as 
the  other  ideas  of  my  sermon?  and  can  this  idea  be  prop- 
erly associated  with  that  one?  and  do  both  this  and  that 
one  tend  to  the  same  general  end? 

And  yet  it  must  be  observed  that  unity  is  not  uni- 
formity. That  would  be  like  imagining  a  man  who  was 
all  arms,  or  a  wheel  which  was  all  spokes.  Indeed,  there 
can  be  no  unity  without  diversity  and  without  variety. 
Just  as  a  tree,  which  is  a  complete  unity,  consists  of  its 
roots,  trunk,  branches,  leaves,  and  fruit ;  so  also  a  ser- 
mon. Dr.  Dykes  has  a  very  fine  and  somewhat  extended 
passage  on  the  subject  of  unity  in  which  he  considers  it 
under  several  heads.    The  substance  is  as  follows: 

(i)  Unity  of  theme:  by  which  he  means  a  proposi- 


PLANNING  THE  SERMON  69 

tion  which  states  with  precision  the  subject  of  his  dis- 
course. It  is  the  germinal  idea  around  which  materials 
shall  gather.  Such  a  theme,  he  says,  will  much  assist 
the  purity  of  the  preacher's  discourse,  more  particularly 
if  he  sets  it  down  in  writing  in  the  form  of  a  proposition. 

(2)  Unity  of  aim.  By  this  he  refers  not  simply  to 
the  design  which  the  preacher  has  in  producing  his  ser- 
mon, but  also  to  its  scope.  It  is  an  address  spoken  for 
some  practical  purpose,  and  the  very  planning  of  its  con- 
struction is  determined  by  the  object  which  the  preacher 
has  in  view.  He  reminds  us  that  many  subjects  lend 
themselves  to  a  multiplicity  of  uses,  but  that  the  preacher 
must  select  one  use  out  of  the  number,  and  keep  himself 
to  that.  His  unity  of  aim  should  be  apparent  particularly 
near  the  end  of  the  discourse,  in  which  the  preacher  is 
sometimes  tempted  to  divide  the  force  of  his  application 
between  a  variety  of  "lessons"  which  he  thinks  may  be 
derived  from  his  consideration  of  the  subject. 

(3)  Unity  of  tone.  He  means  by  this  the  pitch  or 
key  of  feeling  of  the  speaker,  and  his  manner  of  speak- 
ing. This  will  appear  in  his  arrangement  and  in  his  ma- 
terial. This  tone  is  not  a  monotone,  but  what  musicians 
call  a  "crescendo,"  increasing  in  volume  and  effect.  The 
musical  term  also  suggests  that  any  part  of  the  discourse 
should  never  strike  the  listener  as  in  violent  disharmony 
with  the  rest. 

2.  Organization.  We  define  organization  as  the  or- 
derly arrangement  of  material,  subject  to  some  dominat- 
ing idea  or  principle.  This  domination  should  appear 
throughout  the  entire  sermon.  It  is  derived,  of  course, 
from  the  text,  and  from  the  general  subject  which  the 
preacher  obtains  from  his  text;  but  it  should  control  all 
the  separate  parts  of  the  discourse.  In  this  respect  the 
sermon,  with  its  various  ideas,  is  like  an  army  in  that  it 


70  THE  STUDY 

is  not  only  arranged  in  some  suitable  form,  but  is  also 
arranged  subject  to  certain  elements  of  control.  Slattery 
says  "the  real  sermon  ought,  of  course,  to  have  a  com- 
manding idea,  but  this  idea  ought  to  be  broken  up  into 
sections  so  that  people  will  feel  that  they  are  not  perpet- 
ually coming  to  a  point,  and  then  running  off  to  do  it 
again  in  a  little  different  way,  but  that  they  are  gradually 
filling  the  different  angles  of  the  idea  with  significance." 

Organization,  then,  is  something  different  from  order. 
Order  is  mathematical ;  organization  is  logical.  It  is  at 
this  point  that  many  sermonizers  commit  an  unconscious 
error.  They  suppose  that  they  have  proper  arrangement 
because  they  have  embodied  in  their  discourse  a  collec- 
tion of  separate  ideas  to  each  of  which  they  have  attached 
certain  numbers  in  order — first,  second,  third,  and  so  on. 
But  though  there  be  separate  ideas,  and  though  they 
be  arranged  in  order  and  numbered  consecutively,  and 
though  there  may  be  a  certain  relation  between  them 
consistent  with  unity,  yet  there  is  no  apparent  control  or 
government  which  causes  them  to  be  arranged  as  they 
are,  and  promotes  their  larger  efficiency. 

If  a  preacher  is  not  able  to  organize  his  thoughts 
as  suggested,  they  are  very  likely  to  run  wild,  and  unity 
itself  will  be  disturbed,  if  not  indeed  destroyed,  so  that 
the  relation  between  unity  and  organization  is  intimate 
and  reciprocal.  Dean  Howson  says :  "It  is  quite  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  the  poor  and  the  ignorant  do  not 
feel  the  power  of  order  in  that  which  is  addressed  to 
them.  They  do  feel  the  power  though  they  may  not 
understand  the  reason,"  and  he  quotes  Vinet,  who,  how- 
ever, uses  the  term  "order"  in  the  sense  of  organization. 
"Order  is  the  characteristic  of  a  true  sermon.  A  sermon 
can  not  exist  in  any  other  way.  Without  order  one 
would  not  know  what  to  call  it."     The  preacher  then 


PLANNING  THE  SERMON  71 

should  ask  himself  with  reference  to  his  quality  of  the 
discourse,  Why  this  remark  in  this  place?  Why  not 
in  some  other  place?  What  particular  purpose  does  it 
serve?  Will  it  be  apparent  to  those  to  whom  I  preach 
that  my  purpose  is  being  served  by  it?  Does  it  obey  or- 
ders, so  to  speak  ?  Is  it  suggested  by  the  main  idea  ?  Is 
it  compelled  by  it,  is  it  subservient  to  it?  Oh,  the  value 
and  beauty  of  such  arrangement  as  this  would  indicate! 

3.  Progress.  This  is  our  word  for  the  third  quality 
of  the  discourse.  There  must  be  positive  advance  as  the 
sermon  proceeds,  both  intellectual  and  spiritual.  It  must 
move  on  from  the  less  to  the  more  profound,  from  the 
simple  to  the  abstruse,  from  the  lower  level  to  the  higher 
levels.  It  is  this  positive  procession  of  ideas  that  con- 
stitutes what  we  call  "thought."  There  is  no  moving 
in  a  circle,  no  vibration  like  that  of  a  pendulum;  no 
mere  "marking  time." 

A  certain  most  interesting  trick  is  performed  by  some 
traveling  magicians,  in  the  course  of  which  a  seed  is 
planted  in  a  pot,  in  the  sight  of  the  audience,  which 
quickly  germinates  and  in  a  few  moments  sends  up  a 
stock,  develops  branches,  bursts  into  bloom,  and  bears 
fruit  which  rapidly  ripens  and  is  distributed  among  the 
audience.  Such,  indeed,  is  the  very  "trick"  in  proper 
discourse.  Only  the  ripening  of  a  sermon  takes  much 
more  time. 

The  simpler  seed  thoughts  are  introduced  in  the  open- 
ing of  the  sermon  that  come  to  fruitage  in  the  close. 
The  people  are  encouraged  to  think,  and  think  deeply, 
and  thence  the  preacher  proceeds  to  those  higher  things 
which  are  not  readily  apprehended  even  by  the  Christian 
mind.  If  now  the  separate  divisions  of  the  sermon 
manifest  no  such  progress,  it  is  indicative  of  the  fact 
that  both  the  unity  and  the  organization  are  at  fault. 


72  THE  STUDY 

for  the  right  unity  and  the  right  organization  will  tend 
toward  the  right  progress.  The  sermon  is  not  properly 
planned  if  the  three  elements  do  not  appear.  Beecher 
once  remarked  in  his  characteristic  way  that  some  ser- 
mons reminded  him  of  the  sausages  in  a  meat  shop. 
They  had  unity  and  organization  of  a  certain  kind,  but 
no  procession.  Cut  them  off  at  any  point,  and  the  same 
thing  was  furnished.  Let  it  not  be  so  with  our  sermons. 
Let  each  successive  part  be  bigger,  weightier,  more  per- 
suasive than  the  preceding,  and  all  tending  to  some  great 
conclusion. 


THE  ATTACK  UPON  THE  TEXT. 


THE  ATTACK  UPON  THE  TEXT 

It  introduces  the  introduction. 

The  preacher's  first  words. 

Answer  to  the  inquiry  of  the  audience. 
The  subject  to  be  at  once  announced. 

Newspaper  work. 
Examples  from  great  preachers. 


Read  the  sermons  of  the  preachers  quoted  in  the  chapter,  or  other  sermons, 
noting  the  illustrations  or  violations  of  the  rule. 


V. 

THE  ATTACK  UPON  THE  TEXT. 

What  is  ordinarily  called  the  "Introduction"  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  first  thing  in  the  sermon.  This  term 
is  defined  in  the  dictionary  as  "a  preliminary  treatise," 
and  with  such  a  treatise  many  a  preacher  begins  his  dis- 
course. 

But  what  of  those  words  with  which  this  "preliminary 
treatise" — if  there  be  one — is  itself  introduced?  How 
shall  the  sermon  start  oflf? 

The  preacher  having  chosen  his  text  and  set  himself 
to  prepare  his  sermon  upon  it,  should  ask  himself :  "What 
shall  I  first  say?  How  shall  I  in  the  presence  of  my 
hearers  attack  this  text  ?"  In  order  to  answer  that  ques- 
tion he  must  ask  himself  another :  My  text  having  been 
announced,  what  is  the  probable  attitude  of  my  congrega- 
tion with  regard  to  it?  And  this  second  question  can  be 
best  answered  by  his  asking  himself  again,  What  is  my 
own  state  of  mind  and  my  own  attitude  toward  the 
text  when  I  hear  it  announced  by  a  preacher  other  than 
myself?  The  answer  will  no  doubt  occur  to  him  upon 
very  little  consideration.  His  own  attitude  under  such 
circumstances,  and  so  likewise  the  attitude  of  the  con- 
gregation to  which  he  may  be  called  to  preach,  is  gen- 
erally— we  might  say  always — one  of  inquiry.  The  ques- 
tion may  not  be  distinctly  framed  by  them,  but  it  cer- 
tainly is  in  their  minds,  "What  does  that  mean?"  "How 
will  the  preacher  use  this  text  ?"    "What  does  he  propose 

75 


76  THE  STUDY 

to  tell  us  with  regard  to  it  ?"  and  "How  will  he  tell  us  ?" 
The  preacher  must  at  once  respond  to  this  spirit  of  in- 
quiry. Such  questions  as  these  must  be  answered  before 
he  proceeds  to  the  discussion  of  his  theme.  This  is  his 
"attack  upon  the  text." 

Very  much  depends  upon  the  way  in  which  the 
preacher  shall  attack  his  text.  It  may  mean  the  command 
of  the  full  attention  of  the  congregation  from  the  start, 
or  it  may  mean  the  incipient  loss  of  their  interest  and 
attention,  which  consequently  it  will  be  very  hard  to 
regain. 

He  is  not,  therefore,  to  engage  in  some  digression 
which  the  minds  of  the  congregation  will  not  readily 
associate  with  the  text,  or  which  they  may  not  readily 
perceive  to  be  pertinent  to  his  subject.  Least  of  all 
should  he  begin  with  some  figure  of  speech,  or  some 
illustration  for  which  he  has  not  prepared  the  minds  of 
his  congregation.  He  should  relate  no  anecdote,  and  it 
is  doubtful  if  he  should  even  refer  to  the  context  from 
which  the  text  is  derived,  the  people  to  whom  it  was  ad- 
dressed, or  the  author  from  whom  it  proceeded.  All 
these  things  may  be  suitably  done  in  a  little  while,  but 
they  are  not  to  be  done  in  the  very  first  sentences  of  a 
discourse.  Some  preachers  wander  from  their  text  at 
the  very  outset.  Instead  of  beginning  with  its  very 
words  and  that  which  they  believe  they  contain,  they 
begin  at  a  distance  from  the  text  and  approach  it  by 
ways  and  means  which  the  congregation  can  not  possibly 
apprehend. 

The  text  is  to  be  attacked,  therefore,  by  bringing  its 
meaning  and  the  mind  of  the  hearer  together  at  once. 
The  preacher  should  tell  them  in  his  very  first  sentences 
exactly  that  which  he  believes  the  text  contains,  and 
exactly  that  which  he  proposes  to  do  with  the  text  in  his 


THE  ATTACK  UPON  THE  TEXT     77 

discourse.  Generally  this  is  done  by  the  immediate  an- 
nouncement of  his  subject.  Indeed,  this  is  the  best  way 
in  which  to  attack  the  text,  provided  the  subject  is  stated 
in  succinct  terms,  easily  comprehended,  readily  associ- 
ated with  the  text,  and  foreshadowing  all  the  various 
parts  of  the  sermon  which  are  to  follow.  Sometimes, 
however,  it  is  not  fully  convenient  nor  entirely  practi- 
cable for  the  preacher  to  announce  his  subject.  He  has 
a  clear  idea  of  what  the  subject  is,  but  he  can  not  express 
it  in  a  few  words,  and  if  he  were  definitely  to  announce 
a  subject  it  would  require  too  much  circumlocution.  In 
such  a  case  he  omits  the  mention  of  a  particular  subject, 
but  he  does  substantially  the  same  thing — he  tells  the 
people  that  which  he  proposes  to  talk  about. 

There  are  some  who  seem  to  imagine  that  the  bare 
announcement  of  the  text  is  sufficient,  as  though  in 
quoting  it  the  preacher  was  indicating  to  his  congrega- 
tion just  that  which  he  proposed  to  teach.  But  that  this 
is  not  altogether  true  will  appear  upon  a  little  thought, 
and  even  if  it  were  entirely  true  it  is  not  sufficient ;  be- 
cause the  text  is  God's  word  to  the  preacher,  and  the 
preacher  must  translate  it  into  his  own  language.  It 
is  what  God  has  inspired  to  be  said;  but  it  is  necessary 
that  the  preacher  in  discoursing  upon  this  text  should 
express  his  sense  of  that  which  God  has  said ;  his  own 
understanding  of  the  Divine  Word  as  though  he  were 
to  say,  "I  understand  this  to  mean  thus  and  so,  to  set 
forth  such  and  such  principles,  to  encourage  such  and 
such  graces,"  and  so  on. 

Sometimes  the  text  is  of  such  a  character  that,  though 
it  be  properly  selected  and  properly  interpreted,  an  ex- 
planatory statement  is  needed  before  the  preacher  can 
state  definitely  that  which  he  finds  in  it.  In  such  a  case 
it  may  be  well  for  the  preacher,  before  calling  attention 


78  THE  STUDY 

to  the  particular  words  which  he  employs  as  his  text, 
to  read  the  paragraph  in  which  it  is  found,  to  indicate, 
without  mentioning  its  words,  that  his  text  is  to  be  taken 
from  a  portion  of  this  paragraph,  and  then  to  inform 
his  people  that  he  desires  to  explain  something  before 
the  text  itself  is  announced.  This  something  which  he 
must  explain  may  be  found  in  the  occasion,  in  some 
peculiar  providential  circumstance,  or  in  some  slight  ob- 
scurity, not  of  the  text  itself,  but  of  the  propriety  of  its 
use.  Such  a  necessity,  however,  is  comparatively  rare, 
and  it  will  be  but  seldom  that  the  preacher  will  have 
need  of  any  preparatory  statement  or  explanation.  Or- 
dinarily he  should  attack  his  text  as  has  been  indicated. 
There  is  only  one  kind  of  literature  in  which  suspense 
is  admissible ;  that  is  romance.  The  best  novel  is  usually 
considered  the  one  in  which  the  plot  is  the  longest  con- 
cealed, and  in  which  it  is  the  most  difficult  for  the  or- 
dinary reader  to  determine  what  the  author  means  by 
his  arrangement  of  scenes  and  characters.  In  all  other 
literature,  of  whatever  name  or  nature,  that  author  is 
the  best  rhetorician,  and  gives  most  satisfaction  to  his 
readers,  whose  purpose  is  made  distinctly  clear  from 
the  beginning.  Newspaper  work,  perhaps,  corresponds 
more  closely  to  sermonizing  in  this  respect  than  any 
other  form  of  literary  work.  The  very  name  indicates 
it;  the  daily  journal  is  issued  to  convey  news  to  the 
people,  and  the  gospel  is  "good  news."  Occasionally 
there  is  an  editor  who  seems  to  think  that  the  proper 
way  in  which  to  introduce  news  is  by  obscure  headlines, 
catchwords,  or  something  that  is  only  suggested  by  the 
body  of  the  article;  but  the  best  editors  are  not  given 
to  such  mistakes.  Those  newspapers  that  are  most  in 
favor  with  the  reading  public  are  those  in  which  the 
headlines  distinctly  announce  the  news  that  is  to  be  given 


THE  ATTACK  UPON  THE  TEXT     79 

beneath  them,  or  if  the  article  be  of  an  editorial  character 
the  political  or  social  subject  that  is  to  be  discussed. 
A  certain  editor's  advice  to  his  correspondents  is  not  out 
of  place  in  this  connection.  He  told  them  through  the 
columns  of  his  own  paper  that  if  they  had  some  item 
of  interest  to  communicate  it  was  well  to  introduce  it 
with  some  careful  and  elaborate  piece  of  rhetorical  work, 
in  which  they  should  exert  themselves  to  render  their 
composition  as  elegant  and  classical  as  possible.  This 
introduction  was  to  be  followed  by  the  plainest  possible 
statement  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  without  ornamentation 
or  embellishment,  and  with  no  figures  of  speech  or  il- 
lustrations that  did  not  make  the  matter  more  distinctly 
clear.  He  again  advised  them  to  follow  this  statement 
with  a  peroration  in  which  their  most  elegant  writing 
should  be  done.  All  their  flights  of  fancy  were  to  be 
reserved  for  the  peroration,  all  their  most  elaborate  work. 
"Then,"  he  added  in  conclusion,  "cut  off  the  introduction 
and  the  peroration,  and  send  us  the  rest." 

The  attack  upon  the  text  must,  therefore,  be  in  the 
simplest  and  plainest  language  which  the  writer  can  com- 
mand, the  simplest  and  plainest  to  be  found  in  his  whole 
sermon.  It  should  be  modest  and  unpretentious,  and 
directed  immediately  toward  the  meaning  of  the  text. 
This  is  sure  to  bring  the  audience  into  sympathy  with 
the  preacher.  They  feel  that  he  is  intent  upon  deliver- 
ing them  a  message,  and  that  a  message  from  the  Word 
of  God.  Their  interest  is  at  once  aroused  and  their  at- 
tention is  sure  to  be  secured.  Preachers  sometimes  fail 
to  do  this  simple  work  in  the  attacking  of  their  text,  be- 
cause they  appear  to  think  that  it  reflects  upon  their 
ability  as  rhetoricians  and  as  orators.  The  very  re- 
verse is  the  case.  A  young  boy,  who  was  attending  a  cer- 
tain academy,  was  requested  by  his  father  to  go  with 

6 


8o  THE  STUDY 

him  to  hear  a  distinguished  speaker  upon  an  important 
subject.  The  lad,  in  his  boyish  way,  replied,  "Well, 
father,  is  he  an  eminent  man?"  The  father,  little  im- 
agining what  was  in  the  boy's  mind,  and  supposing  that 
he  would  be  the  more  inclined  to  go  if  his  answer  was 
in  the  affirmative,  replied,  "Yes,  my  son,  he  is  a  very 
eminent  man."  "Then,"  said  the  boy,  "please  do  not 
ask  me  to  go."  The  reason  for  the  boy's  reply  is  appar- 
ent. He  supposed  that  eminent  men  always  began  their 
addresses,  as  well  as  continued  them,  in  language  which 
a  boy  could  not  understand  nor  appreciate. 

While  this  method  of  attacking  the  text  belongs  dis- 
tinctly to  the  New  Homiletics,  it  may  be  observed  that 
it  is  the  method  adopted  by  many  of  the  most  distin- 
guished and  useful  preachers  of  the  past.  Let  us  ob- 
serve a  few  examples. 

Archibald  Alexander.  Text,  Jude  21,  "Keep  your- 
selves in  the  love  of  God."  Subject,  "Keeping  alive  the 
love  of  God."  His  first  sentences  are,  "The  phrase  'love 
of  God'  has  two  significations  in  the  New  Testament. 
First,  it  imports  God's  love  to  us;  secondly,  our  love  to 
God." 

Frederick  William  Robertson.  Text,  John  16:31, 
32:  "Jesus  answered  them.  Do  ye  now  believe?  Be- 
hold the  hour  cometh,  yea  is  now  come,  that  ye  shall 
be  scattered  every  man  to  his  own,  and  shall  leave  Me 
alone;  and  yet  I  am  not  alone,  because  the  Father  is 
with  Me."  Subject,  "The  Loneliness  of  Christ."  First 
sentences:  "There  are  two  kinds  of  solitude;  the  first 
consisting  of  insulation  in  space;  the  other  of  isolation 
of  the  spirit.    The  first  is  simply  separation  by  distance." 

Charles  H.  Spurgeon.  Text,  2  Corinth.  8:9,  "For 
ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that,  though 
He  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  He  became  poor,  that 


THE  ATTACK  UPON  THE  TEXT     8i 

ye  through  His  poverty  might  be  rich."  Subject,  "The 
Condescension  of  Christ."  First  sentence,  "The  apostle 
in  this  chapter  was  endeavoring  to  stir  up  the  Christians 
to  liberality." 

Thomas  Chalmers.  Text,  Isaiah  27 : 4,  5  :  "Fury  is 
not  in  Me:  who  would  set  the  briers  and  thorns  against 
Me  in  battle?  I  would  go  through  them,  I  would  burn 
them  together.  Or  let  him  take  hold  of  My  strength, 
that  he  may  make  peace  with  Me;  and  he  shall  make 
peace  with  Me."  Subject,  "Fury  not  in  God."  First 
sentences,  "There  are  three  distinct  lessons  in  this  text. 
The  first,  that  fury  is  not  in  God:  the  second,  that  He 
does  not  want  to  glorify  Himself  by  the  death  of  sinners — 
"Who  would  set  the  thorns  and  briers  against  Me  in 
battle?"  The  third,  the  invitation,  "Take  hold  of  My 
strength,  that  you  may  make  peace  with  Me ;  and  you 
shall  make  peace  with  Me." 

Edward  M.  Goulburn.  Text,  James  3 : 2-4,  "For  in 
many  things  we  offend  all.  If  any  man  offend  not  in 
word,  the  same  is  a  perfect  man  and  able  also  to  bridle 
the  whole  body.  Behold  we  put  bits  in  the  horses* 
mouths,  that  they  may  obey  us ;  and  we  turn  about  their 
whole  body.  Behold  also  the  ships,  which  though  they  be 
so  great,  and  are  driven  of  fierce  winds,  yet  are  they 
turned  about  with  a  very  small  helm,  whithersoever  the 
governor  listeth."  Subject,  "The  Government  of  the 
Tongue."  First  sentences:  "The  apostle  is  speaking  in 
these  verses  of  the  government  of  the  tongue.  And  he 
says  of  the  government  of  the  tongue  two  distinct  things 
which  are  not  to  be  confounded  together" — which  two 
things  he  briefly  explains  are  these :  The  government  of 
the  tongue  is  an  index  of  a  man's  whole  moral  state,  and 
also  a  determining  instrument. 

These  illustrations  furnish  a  distinct  variety  of  sub- 

I 


B2  THE  STUDY 

jects  and  of  texts;  but  in  every  case  the  preacher  goes 
to  work  at  once  to  enlighten  his  hearers.  There  is  no  sus- 
pense. Their  inquiry  is  immediately  met.  There  is  no 
better  homilete  in  our  own  day  than  W.  L.  Watkinson; 
and  this  method  of  attacking  the  text  is  most  character- 
istic of  his  pulpit  style.  Here  are  some  of  his  opening 
sentences.  Texts,  Rom.  7:  17  and  i  Cor.  15:  10,  "Note, 
first,  the  significance  of  these  passages."  Text,  Mark 
12 :  34,  "First,  'the  Kingdom  of  God' — let  us  briefly  in- 
quire into  the  meaning  of  this  phrase."  Text,  i  Tim. 
6:  19.  "In  speaking  of  a  life  that  is  life  indeed,  St.  Paul 
implies  that  all  life  is  not  such;  but  that  many  live  a 
false  life." 

I^et  us  learn  this  lesson. 


THE  INTRODUCTION. 


THE  INTRODUCTION 

The  Classic  Custom. 

The  Method  in  the  New  Homiletics. 

I.  Purposes  of  the  Introduction. 

1.  To  engage  interest  in  the  subject. 

2.  To  prepare  the  mind  to  understand,  appreciate  and 
accept. 

II.  Quahties  of  a  good  Introduction. 

1.  Germane. 

2.  Single. 

III.  Sources. 

1.  Cognate  to  the  theme. 

2.  The  Occasion. 

3.  The  Context. 

IV.  Special  Faults. 

1.  Anticipation. 

2.  Apology. 


Read  Lymaa's  "Preaching  in  the  New  Age,"  Chap.  V;  Watson's  "Cure  of 
Souls,"  Chap.  I;  Shedd's  "  Homiletics,"  Chap.  VIII. 


yi. 

THE  INTRODUCTION. 

We  use  this  term  "Introduction,"  in  the  sense  already 
explained,  namely,  that  of  a  preliminary  treatise.  The 
lack  of  proper  sermon  preparation  usually  appears  more 
emphatically  in  the  introduction  than  in  any  other  por- 
tion of  the  discourse;  and  it  may  almost  be  said  that  a 
bad  introduction  is  worse  than  any  other  bad  feature  in 
formal  discourse.  While  many  of  the  best  preachers 
of  the  past,  as  we  have  shown,  proceeded  at  once  to 
the  attack  upon  the  text,  yet  the  Old  Homiletics  usually 
provided  for  a  somewhat  elaborate  introduction,  and 
one  that  was  not  always  germane  to  the  discourse.  Cic- 
ero himself,  though  a  master  of  rhetoric  in  very  many 
respects,  positively  advised  an  introduction  in  character 
foreign  to  the  general  subject  of  the  oration,  and  it  is 
said  of  him  that  he  often  wrote  such  introductions  when 
he  did  not  know  in  advance  to  what  oration  or  essay  they 
might  be  attached.  It  was  in  his  mind  an  avenue  of 
approach  sometimes  very  circuitous,  and  leading  through 
a  variety  of  scenery,  so  as  to  furnish  somewhat  of  a 
surprise  when  its  end  was  finally  reached.  He  calls 
it  the  "aditus  ad  causam."  But  Cicero  himself  was  a 
frequent  illustration  of  the  violation  of  his  own  principles. 
Some  of  his  best  orations  begin  without  any  introduction 
in  the  sense  in  which  the  word  is  sometimes  understood. 
For  example  his  oration  against  Catiline  begins  abruptly, 
"When,  O  Catiline,  do  you  mean  to  cease  abusing  our 

8s 


86  THE  STUDY 

patience?"    Other  illustrations  will  suggest  themselves. 

Following,  however,  what  appeared  to  be  the  classic 
models,  the  preachers  of  a  former  generation  sought 
to  introduce  their  sermons  in  much  the  same  way.  Vinet 
directs  the  preacher  to  lead  the  audience  very  carefully 
to  his  real  subject  by  its  partial  concealment.  His  in- 
troduction should  lie  near  to  his  subject,  but  should  not 
be  directly  connected  with  it.  This  sort  of  an  introduc- 
tion, however,  is  ruled  out  by  the  New  Homiletics.  Dr. 
Dykes  significantly  says  that  "time  is  precious,  and  none 
of  it  should  be  wasted  on  introductory  matter,  unless  it 
is  judged  requisite  for  certain  very  important  reasons." 
The  main  thing,  he  says,  is  to  create  an  impression  on 
the  audience  from  the  first  that  you  have  something  to 
say  worth  hearing,  and  are  so  much  in  earnest  that  you 
mean  them  to  listen  to  it.  Dr.  Shedd  says,  "There  is 
not  ordinarily  any  need  of  an  exordium  in  sacred  elo- 
quence" for  the  reasons  which  the  classic  authors  sought 
to  connect  with  it.  Dr.  Dabney  says,  "A  formal  exor- 
dium is  not  to  be  too  much  insisted  upon."  Bishop  Quayle 
says :  "The  preacher  must  come  at  his  theme  at  once.  He 
must  not  deal  in  prolix  preludes.  He  must  leap  like  a 
man  from  a  moving  train  and  touch  the  ground  on  a 
dead  run.  He  must  instantly  throw  a  challenge  to  a 
man's  brain.  He  must  flash  his  sword  at  the  outset  of 
the  fray.  Then  the  auditors  will  not  care  to  drowse." 
These  quotations  are  sufficient  to  show  that  what  is  or- 
dinarily called  an  introduction  is  not  popular  with  the 
best  authorities  upon  this  subject.  In  very  many  cases 
the  attack  upon  the  text,  as  it  has  been  already  defined, 
is  a  sufficient  introduction  of  itself,  and  the  preacher's 
sermon  would  in  many  cases  be  much  better  if  nothing 
were  added  to  it. 

Dr.  Watson  says  that  there  should  be  something  of 


THE  INTRODUCTION  87 

an  introduction  to  a  sermon,  "especially  when  a  man  is 
young — an  introduction  which  used  to  extend  back  to 
the  creation  of  the  world  and  the  purposes  of  God,  and 
now  embraces  the  latest  results  of  criticism  on  the  book 
from  which  the  text  is  taken.  Whether  our  fathers  liked 
to  approach  a  subject  through  an  underground  passage 
of  theological  archaeology  may  be  doubtful ;  but  it  is 
certain  that  their  children  have  no  wish  to  arrive  at  an 
ethical  principle  of  prophecy  through  a  museum  of  the 
higher  criticism.  This  generation  desires  to  be  ushered 
into  the  subject  of  the  day  without  wearisome  prelimi- 
naries, and  nothing  will  more  certainly  take  the  edge 
off  the  appetite  than  a  laborious  preface.  Very  likely 
it  must  be  written,  or  else  the  minister  would  not  get 
further,  but  it  ought  then  to  be  burned  as  having  served 
its  purpose.  It  is  really  getting  up  steam,  and  it  is  no 
use  inviting  passengers  on  board  till  the  vessel  is  ready 
to  start." 

Introductions  are  sometimes  prolonged  by  including 
in  them  that  which  might  much  better  be  reserved  for 
the  body  of  the  discourse,  and  in  sermon  preparation 
the  preacher  should  always  ask  himself  in  advance 
whether  that  which  he  regards  as  introduction  is  really 
introduction  in  any  proper  sense,  or  whether,  with  some 
slight  modification,  it  might  not  better  be  inserted  at  a 
later  point. 

Giving  these  considerations  all  the  weight  which  they 
should  have,  it  is  yet  important  that  we  should  consider 
the  purposes  of  an  introduction  and  its  proper  qualities. 

I.  What,  then,  are  the  purposes  of  an  introduction? 
Sometimes  the  only  purpose  which  an  introduction  serves, 
or  which  the  preacher  seeks  to  serve  thereby,  is  simply 
to  "kill  time."  It  not  infreq-uently  happens  that  he  has 
considerable  good  material,  sufficient  to  interest  the  au- 


88  THE  STUDY 

dience  for  a  certain  space  of  time,  say  fifteen  minutes, 
but  he  is  in  doubt  about  being  able  to  properly  prolong 
the  discussion  of  his  theme  beyond  that  point.  In  order, 
therefore,  that  he  may  not  seem  to  have  nothing  to  say, 
and  desiring  to  reserve  the  best  that  he  has  to  say,  he 
labors  through  an  introduction  which  he  knows  pos- 
sesses but  little  value,  except  to  prolong  his  sermon  to 
what  he  regards  as  the  necessary  half-hour.  It  would 
be  far  better  in  this  case  for  the  preacher  to  err  upon 
the  other  side,  if  indeed  it  be  an  error,  and  preach  but 
fifteen  minutes.  It  is  always  a  serious  mistake  to  talk 
•  when  one  has  nothing  to  say. 

The  proper  purposes  of  an  introduction  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 
ft  I.  To    engage    interest    in    the    subject    which    the 

preacher  purposes  to  discuss.  Such  is  the  chief  purpose 
which  Cicero  attached  to  an  introduction,  claiming  that 
he  had  learned  from  the  Greeks  to  "adopt  such  an  ex- 
ordium as  to  make  the  hearers  favorable  to  us,  willing 
to  be  informed,  and  attentive."  It  is  doubtful,  however, 
if  even  Cicero  would  have  made  this  statement  had  he 
been  a  modern  preacher,  inasmuch  as  modern  audiences 
are  supposed  to  be  interested  in  any  subject  which  the 
preacher  may  present.  There  is  a  vast  difference  be- 
tween a  speech  in  the  Roman  Forum  and  a  speech  de- 
livered in  a  Christian  church.  However,  it  is  well,  in 
introducing  a  subject  which  might  possibly  arouse  antag- 
onism, to  allay  the  prejudices  with  which  the  preacher 
might  otherwise  contend.  There  are  some  subjects  pre- 
sented even  from  the  Christian  pulpit  which  are  not  al- 
together palatable,  and  it  is  well  that  the  preacher  should 
disarm  criticism  at  the  start.  This  is  not  to  be  done, 
however,  by  magnifying  the  theme,  nor  by  emphasizing 
the  importance  of  the  subject  in  advance,  but  by  saying 


THE  INTRODUCTION  89 

something  with  regard  to  it  that  will  show  it  to  be  well 
worth  considering ;  by  promoting  that  spirit  of  inquiry 
with  regard  to  it  about  which  we  have  already  spoken, 
or  by  indicating  that  it  is  to  be  pursued  in  a  spirit  of 
charity  and  conciliation. 

/  2.  The  second  purpose  of  an  introduction  is  to  pre- 
pare the  mind  to  (i)  understand  the  truth  which  is  to 
be  presented,  (2)  to  appreciate  its  importance,  and  (3) 
to  accept  its  conclusions.  These  three  things  belong 
together,  and  the  preacher  should  have  them  in  mind  in 
every  introduction  which  he  writes.  Inasmuch  as  it  is 
his  purpose  to  prepare  the  people  to  understand  his  sub- 
ject, this  is  the  place  for  such  preliminary .  remarks  as 
are  necessary  to  its  full  definition.  Fundamental  instruc- 
tion is  given  in  the  introduction  with  regard  to  the  terms 
employed,  either  in  the  Scripture  from  which  the  preacher 
quotes,  or  in  his  own  discussion  of  the  theme,  and  for 
that  general  clearing  of  the  ground  which  shall  make 
the  whole  discussion  intelligible.  As  it  is  his  purpose 
in  the  introduction  to  prepare  them  to  appreciate  the 
subject,  he  must  have  it  in  mind  that  the  appreciation 
is  not  to  be  for  his  own  work,  in  argument,  illustration, 
or  anything  of  that  kind;  or  even  in  his  conclusions,  so 
far  as  they  are  personal  to  himself;  but  to  appreciate 
the  truth  which  lies  behind  it  all.  The  people  must  be 
prepared  to  consider  it  worthy,  timely,  practical.  He 
is  to  prepare  them  to  accept  it.  This  will  appear  rather 
in  the  spirit  in  which  the  introduction  is  written  than  in 
anything  which  it  may  contain.  Nowhere  in  the  whole 
discourse  is  it  so  important  that  the  preacher  display  a 
kindly  spirit,  intent  upon  winning  the  souls  that  are 
before  him.  He  must  not  place  himself  in  a  hostile  at- 
titude, but  in  a  most  friendly  one  toward  his  congregation. 
His  introduction  is  for  this  very  purpose,  that  he  and 


90  THE  STUDY 

they  may  come  to  terms  at  once,  and  be  disposed  to  enter 
into  a  discussion  that  shall  be  mutually  friendly  and 
forbearing. 

11.  What  qualities,  then,  are  in  order  to  these  pur- 
poses? What  are  the  qualities  of  a  good  introduction? 
We  answer : — 

I.  It  should  contain  nothing  foreign  to  the  purpose 
of  the  discourse.  For  this  very  reason  it  is  sometimes 
advisable  that  the  introduction  should  not  be  prepared 
at  the  beginning  of  the  preacher's  writing,  as  is  so  fre- 
quently done,  but  that  it  should  be  reserved  until  the  ser- 
mon has  been  otherwise  completed,  or  nearly  so.  It 
very  frequently  occurs  that  a  preacher  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  sermon  begins  with  an  introduction  which  he 
supposes,  at  the  outset,  to  be  exactly  adapted  to  the  dis- 
course which  is  in  preparation,  but  as  he  proceeds  his  view- 
point is  somewhat  altered ;  thoughts  occur  to  him  which 
he  did  not  anticipate,  and  he  even  reaches  a  somewhat 
different  conclusion  than  that  at  which  he  expected  to 
arrive  when  he  began:  yet  his  introduction  remains,  and 
his  discourse  is  out  of  joint.  He  is  like  a  traveler  who 
starts  for  some  distant  point,  but  is  diverted  by  certain 
circumstances  so  that  he  arrives  at  a  different  place  than 
that  which  he  expected  to  enter.  Dr.  Watson  in  his 
"Cure  of  Souls"  has  certain  characteristic  rules  for  the 
preparation  of  a  sermon  which  he  states  succinctly  in 
the  following  words:  (i)  selection,  (2)  separation,  (3) 
elimination,  (4)  meditation,  (5)  elaboration,  and  (6)  re- 
vision. The  second  process  of  which  he  writes,  "separa- 
tion," should  be  the  characteristic  of  a  good  introduc- 
tion. It  should  distinctly  set  by  itself  the  course  of 
thought  which  the  preacher  intends  to  pursue.  This  would 
greatly  aid  him  in  its  delivery.  "A  sermon,"  says  Dr. 
Watson,  "ought  to  be  a  monograph,  not  an  encyclopedia." 
A  monograph  is  the  result  of  separation. 


THE  INTRODUCTION  91 

2.  A  good  introduction  should  be  single,  not  complex. 
There  should  be  just  one  door  to  the  edifice  which  he 
is  constructing,  with  not  even  what  we  call  a  "storm- 
door"  in  front  of  it.  It  should  therefore  be  brief.  Dr. 
Howe  remarked,  with  regard  to  a  certain  preacher,  that 
he  was  so  long  "laying  the  cloth"  that  he  did  not  feel 
certain  that  any  meal  would  be  served.  Preachers  should 
remember  that  our  age  is  impatient  of  the  superfluous. 
*'A11  noble  art,"  says  Dr.  Lyman,  "begins  with  rejection. 
Cut  away  all  the  marble  which  is  not  statue."  Said 
Michael  Angelo— 

"  The  more  the  marble  wastes 
The  more  the  statue  grows." 

"Do  not  hammer  the  head  off  the  nail."  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson  aptly  remarks  that  "to  add  irrelevant  matter 
is  not  to  lengthen,  but  to  bury."  Such  a  remark  pertains 
more  to  the  introduction  than  to  any  other  portion  of  the 
discourse.  There  are  some  preachers  whose  sermons  are 
chiefly  introduction,  and  there  are  a  few  whose  sermons 
are  all  introduction.  Some  of  them  are  masters  of  their 
art  in  a  certain  way,  because  there  is  such  a  thing  in  both 
rhetoric  and  theology  as  "Introduction,"  which  means 
the  elaborate  preparation  for  some  study  or  group  of 
studies  which  is  to  be  pursued  at  length.  So  there  is  a 
small  but  important  class  of  preachers  who  construct 
most  profitable  sermons  by  talking  at  great  length  about 
a  text  without  ever  discussing  the  truth  which  the  text 
contains.  The  people,  however,  are  thereby  led  to  reflect 
upon  it  for  themselves,  and  upon  their  own  reflection, 
to  appreciate  it.  But  such  work  is  not  at  all  to  be  coun- 
seled.   It  belongs  to  unusual  minds. 

III.  The  sources  of  a  proper  introduction  are  very 
hard  to  determine — so  much  in  this  case  def>ends  upon 
the  theme.    The  sources  from  which  the  introduction  to 


92:  THE  STUDY 

one  sermon  may  be  gathered  are  altogether  different  from 
those  upon  which  the  introduction  to  another  sermon  may 
be  drawn ;  yet  a  few  suggestions  with  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter may  not  be  out  of  place. 

1.  The  introduction  should  be  taken  from  those 
sources  which  are  cognate  to  the  theme.  If  the  text  is 
one  which  refers  to  the  phenomena  of  nature,  then  nature 
is  a  suitable  source  from  which  to  derive  one's  introduc- 
tion ;  and  so  with  regard  to  other  matters. 

2.  The  occasion  may  sometimes  furnish  a  suitable 
source  for  the  introduction.  The  sermon  may  relate  to 
some  special  exigency  of  the  times,  or  to  some  special 
movement  in  society,  or  to  some  special  activity  on  be- 
half of  the  Church,  in  which  case  the  occasion  will  furnish 
the  introduction. 

3.  Sometimes  it  is  to  be  derived  from  the  context, 
particularly  so  if  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  context 
in  order  to  the  full  understanding  of  the  passage  which 
the  preacher  has  selected. 

IV.    ■  The  special  faults  which  are  found  in  intro- 
ductions have  been  in  a  measure  already  noted,  but  there- 
are  two  remaining  against  which  the  preacher  should  be 
particularly  guarded. 

I.  The  most  frequent  fault,  and  one  which  may  be 
said  to  be  the  very  worst  possible,  is  Anticipation.  It  is 
always  destructive  of  interest  and  often  destructive  of 
profit.  By  "anticipation"  we  mean  the  introduction  of 
any  kind  of  material  in  advance  of  its  proper  place,  and 
before  the  audience  is  prepared  to  understand  or  to  re- 
ceive it.  Dr.  Dabney  well  says  with  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter :  "The  introduction  must  not  embody  a  thought  which 
is  essential  to  the  main  discussion.  This  is  an  error  of 
structure  to  which  the  inexperienced  and  impulsive  wi-iter 
is  prone.    Approaching  the  work  of  composition  with  a 


THE  INTRODUCTION  92 

mind  fired  by  the  subject,  he  finds  those  ideas  which  are 
cardinal  to  it  prominent  in  his  thoughts,  and  he  can 
scarcely  refrain  from  pouring  out  some  one  of  them  the 
moment  he  begins.  The  consequence  is  that  when  he 
proceeds  in  earnest  to  deal  with  his  proposition  he  will 
find  he  has  anticipated  essential  matter.  He  has  now  only 
the  choice  between  a  bald  repetition  of  his  first  idea,  or 
else  a  leaving  of  his  argument  fragmentary.  A  stone 
which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  close  his  arch  has  been 
already  laid  in  the  threshold."  This  is  exactly  the  way 
in  which  anticipation  comes  about.  The  preacher  has 
been  long  engaged  in  thought  with  regard  to  the  subject 
which  he  is  about  to  present.  He  has  thought  it  through 
very  carefully  and  it  has  grown  upon  him.  He  has  added 
one  thing  to  another  until  he  has  reached  certain  con- 
clusions which  have  been  a  source  of  profit  to  his  own 
soul ;  but  he  does  not  consider  that  it  would  be  better  for 
him  to  lead  his  audience  over  the  very  way  in  which  he 
has  himself  traveled;  that,  in  fact,  they  can  reach  his 
conclusions  by  no  other  method.  Forgetting  all  this,  he 
places  in  the  very  introduction  of  his  discourse  those  con- 
siderations which  in  his  own  study  of  the  subject  came 
at  the  close. 

Anticipation  is  of  two  kinds:  (i)  It  may  be  logical, 
in  which  case  those  conclusions  which  are  the  result  of 
argument  are  given  before  the  argument  itself;  (2)  It 
may  be  spiritual,  in  which  case  duty  is  enforced,  or  truth 
is  commended,  before  the  ground  upon  which  that  duty 
rests  has  been  stated,  or  before  the  reasons  for  the  belief 
of  that  truth  have  been  given.  Both  are  common  and 
equally  disastrous. 

2.  A  second  serious  fault  in  an  introduction  is 
Apology.  We  may  speak  with  regard  to  this  matter 
without  qualification.    An  apology  is  never  to  be  made. 


94  THE  STUDY 

Sometimes  the  preacher  will  feel  it  well  to  make  an  ex- 
planation, not  so  much  by  way  of  excusing  himself,  as 
by  way  of  rectifying  some  mistake,  or  what  not,  upon 
his  part;  but  even  such  an  explanation  had  better  be 
made  at  the  close  of  a  sermon  than  at  its  beginning.  An 
apology  is  never  in  place,  least  of  all  in  an  introduction. 
It  ministers  nothing  but  weakness  to  the  preacher's  dis- 
course. If  he  himself  feels  that  it  is  inadequately 
wrought  out,  or  presented  without  due  preparation,  he 
will  only  make  its  defects  the  more  apparent  by  an  apol- 
ogy, in  directing  the  attention  of  the  congregation  to 
them.  Frequently,  however,  his  apology  is  a  sheer  mis- 
take. That  for  which  he  apologizes  really  needs  no  apol- 
ogy, and  if  nothing  of  the  kind  is  offered  it  may  come 
with  greater  beauty  and  power  to  the  listener  than  the 
preacher  had  himself  expected. 

The  preacher  may  be  tempted  to  present  an  apology 
either  for  the  subject  or  for  himself,  but  he  should  never 
present  any  subject  for  which  it  is  necessary  for  him  to 
apologize.  And  the  apology  for  one's  self  is  an  excuse 
which  a  preacher  has  no  right  to  make.  If  he  has  done 
the  best  that  he  could  do  under  the  circumstances,  let 
him  speak  in  humble  reliance  upon  God,  and  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  a  blessing  upon  his  best.  He  can  do  no 
more. 

The  old  proverb  says,  "Well  begun,  half  done."  So 
we  may  say  with  regard  to  the  introduction.  If  it  is  clear, 
clean,  and  direct,  if  it  serves  those  proper  purposes  for 
which  it  is  prepared,  the  sermon  which  follows  it  is  likely 
to  be  acceptable. 

A  plain  worshiper,  who  had  been  much  upon  the 
sea  in  the  days  of  the  old  sailing  vessels,  remarked  with 
regard  to  the  sermons  of  a  certain  minister  that  they 
were  "clipper-built."    Those  who  recall  the  special  de- 


THE  INTRODUCTION  95 

sign  of  such  vessels  will  understand  his  reference.  The 
peculiar  quality  of  the  old  clippers  was  in  the  formation 
of  their  prows,  rather  than  in  the  general  form  of  the 
vessel.  The  "cut-water"  was  sharp,  clean,  and  projected 
backward  upon  lines  which  offered  the  least  possible  re- 
sistance to  the  waves.  Therefore  they  were  fast  sailers, 
while  at  the  same  time  capable  of  carrying  considerable 
freight.  And  the  introduction  to  the  sermon  is  the  "cut- 
water;" it,  too,  should  offer  the  least  possible  resistance. 
It  should  be  no  burden  upon  the  attention  of  the  congre- 
gation, but  rather  the  reverse.  A  scow  may  carry  more 
freight  than  a  clipper,  but  its  sailing  qualities  are  so  im- 
perfect that  it  is  capable  of  making  but  a  single  passage 
while  the  other  vessel  is  making  half  a  dozen.  The  clip- 
per is  the  more  effective,  and  there  are  some  sermons 
weighted  with  an  immense  amount  of  learning,  thought, 
and  argument,  which  are  not  effective,  only  because  they 
are  not  "clipper-built." 


SERMON  BODY. 


SERMON  BODY. 

Variety  advisable. 

I.  There  should  be  divisions. 
Proper  character. 

When  they  should  be  stated  in  advance. 

II.  Number  of  divisions. 
The  text  governs. 

III.  Nature  of  divisions. 

1.  Comprehensive. 

2.  Coordinate. 

3.  Flowing. 

4.  Distinct. 

5.  Unconventional. 

6.  Original. 

IV.  Order  of  divisions. 
Rhetorical  rather  than  logical. 


Read  Kern's  "Ministry  to  the  Consreeration."  XIV:  Pattison'a  "Makinf  «f 
the  Sermon,"  XI ;  Beecher'a  "  Yale  Lectures,"  Vol.  I ;  IX. 


VII. 
SERMON  BODY. 

We  call  that  portion  of  the  sermon  which  follows  the 
introduction  "sermon  body."  This  really  is  the  sermon. 
The  introduction  should  possess  no  value  except  as  an 
introduction.  The  same  remark  may  be  made  with  re- 
gard to  the  conclusion,  as  we  shall  presently  see.  The 
special  value  which  attaches  to  this  discourse,  as  sermon 
work,  relates  to  the  sermon  body.  This  portion  of  the 
sermon  has  been  called  by  different  names  by  different 
writers  upon  the  subject,  such  as  the  "argument"  or  the 
"discussion"  and  a  variety  of  other  terms ;  but  we  prefer 
to  discard  them  altogether  because  they  are  not  applicable 
to  all  sorts  of  sermons. 

This  remark  should  be  made  before  we  consider  the 
character  of  the  sermon  body — that  the  preacher  should 
cultivate  variety  therein.  He  is  sure  to  be  ultimately 
wearisome  to  his  congregation  if  his  sermons  are  all  built 
upon  the  same  plan,  or  upon  plans  that  closely  resemble 
each  other ;  and  yet  in  every  sermon  there  should  be  some 
plan.  The  principal  thing  which  is  to  be  urged  with  re- 
gard to  it  is  that  it  should  present  the  development  of 
some  theme.  There  should  be  positive  thought  in  it,  by 
which  the  hearer  shall  be  carried  along  from  one  position 
to  another  unto  the  culmination. 

I.  Should  there  be  divisions  in  the  sermon  body? 
There  is  but  one  reasonable  answer  to  this  question.  By 
all  means. 

99 


loo  THE  STUDY 

It  is  true  that  certain  objections  have  been  made  to 
the  ordinary  practice  with  regard  to  this  matter.  It  has 
been  said,  for  example,  that  it  interrupts  the  flow  of 
thought.  There  are  those  who  claim  that  a  preacher 
should  go  where  his  thoughts  carry  him  in  the  composi- 
tion of  a  sermon.  Again  it  is  said  that  it  is  unfavorable 
to  the  unity  of  a  discourse,  that  when  divisions  are  mul- 
tiplied unity  is  impaired.  Again  it  is  said  that  it  strains 
the  play  of  the  emotions  and  defeats  the  best  purposes  of 
the  orator,  which  should  include  the  play  upon  the  feel- 
ings of  those  to  whom  he  speaks.  It  is  said  that  it 
deadens  a  discourse,  deprives  it  of  life,  and  reduces  it  to 
a  mechanical  production.  These  objections  do  not  seem 
to  possess  great  weight,  and  very  much  may  be  said  to 
set  them  entirely  aside.  Dr.  Watson  well  says  that  edu- 
cated people  resent  a  sermon  where  A  comes  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  alphabet,  or  S  precedes  M,  and  they  are  not 
appeased  by  the  fact  that  they  have  had  all  the  letters 
somehow.  He  adds  that  it  is  well  worth  saying  that  even 
the  people  without  culture  are  dissatisfied  with  a  disor- 
derly sermon.  It  is  disheartening  to  follow  a  guide  whose 
progress  is  a  zigzag. 

We  ought,  however,  carefully  to  inquire  what  it 
means  that  a  preacher  is  counseled  to  divide  his  sermons 
into  the  firstly,  secondly,  thirdly,  and  so  on.  It  certainly 
does  not  mean  that  he  has  a  number  of  separate  ideas 
whose  separation  he  wishes  to  make  emphatic,  nor  that 
he  imagines  a  certain  number  of  doctrines  or  duties  should 
be  presented  from  his  text,  in  the  presentation  of  which 
he  affixes  a  certain  number  to  each.  If  a  preacher  has 
no  other  idea  of  the  divisions  of  a  sermon  than  that  whick 
such  a  consideration  would  imply,  he  is  very  much  at 
fault.  There  should  be  no  divisions  at  all  in  a  discourse 
unless  they  mark  positive  gradations  in  the  thought  which 


SERMON  BODY  loi 

the  preacher  presents.  There  is  a  ceratin  law  in  the 
mental  process  which  we  can  not  set  aside.  There  is  a 
certain  positive  order  in  all  rationality.  This  law  re- 
quires us  to  think  and  speaV  methodically.  It  is  the  de- 
mand of  our  own  minds,  and  it  is  the  demand  of  the 
minds  of  those  whom  we  address,  and  it  is  this  which 
furnishes  the  underlying  principle  of  divisions  in  a  ser- 
mon. We  are  not  then  to  gather  up  the  different  parts 
of  a  discourse  and  patch  them  together  in  any  way  so  as 
to  make  a  something  which  we  call  a  whole,  but  we  are 
to  put  them  together  in  such  shape  that  the  whole  when 
it  is  completed  is  a  comprehensive  unity,  and  not  a  mere 
conglomeration.  It  has  been  well  suggested  that  the 
work  of  the  painter  is  a  fine  illustration  of  this  process. 
He  does  not  attempt  in  every  picture  of  some  person  to 
show  the  skeleton,  but  he  must  know  where  the  skeleton 
is,  and  there  must  ever  be  one  in  his  imagination.  The 
great  masters  were  as  careful  students  of  anatomy  as 
any  surgeon  of  the  present  day.  They  studied  from  the 
nude  with  the  most  painstaking  care,  but  only  in  order 
that  their  figures  when  draped  should  represent  things 
of  life.  Phillips  Brooks  practiced  what  he  preached  when 
he  declared  that  the  true  way  to  get  rid  of  the  boniness 
of  a  sermon  was  not  by  leaving  out  the  bare  bones  of  the 
skeleton,  but  by  clothing  it  with  flesh. 

It  is  not  necessary  then  that  the  divisions  should  be 
always  stated,  but  it  is  important  that  the  hearer  should 
always  be  able  to  recognize  the  processes  of  the  thought. 
Ordinarily,  however,  it  is  better  that  the  divisions  should 
be  stated ;  it  is  a  positive  help  to  the  understanding  of  the 
process  of  the  thought  which  the  preacher  can  scarcely 
afford  to  omit. 

It  is  not  generally  well  to  state  them  in  advance.  This 
i«  a  kind  of  anticipation  which  may  seriously  interfere 


102  THE  STUDY 

with  the  profit  of  the  preacher's  work.  The  audience  is 
apt  to  run  ahead  of  his  thought,  and  sometimes  to  con- 
nect that  with  his  divisions  which  he  himself  is  not  likely 
to  mention.  More  than  this,  there  is  a  certain  skill  in 
the  surprise  power  which  resides  in  a  division  which  is 
not  expressed  until  the  preacher  is  ready  to  treat  it,  which 
he  does  well  to  cultivate.  If  the  subject  is  of  such  a 
character  that  there  is  some  obscurity  connected  with  its 
statement,  or  it  is  likely  to  be  misunderstood  or  misap- 
plied, it  may  be  well  to  state  the  divisions  in  advance, 
but  this  should  be  the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  Let 
us  illustrate  this  by  a  couple  of  examples.  A  preacher 
is  engaged,  let  us  say,  with  the  text  taken  from  i  Sam. 
4 :  22,  "The  glory  is  departed  from  Israel ;  for  the  ark 
of  God  is  taken."  It  will  be  remembered  that  these  were 
the  words  of  the  dying  wife  of  Phinehas  when  she  heard 
of  the  disaster  which  had  overtaken  the  Israelites  in 
their  battle  with  the  Philistines.  The  preacher's  subject 
is  "The  Climax  of  Calamity."  He  proposes  to  show  the 
sense  in  which  the  ark  of  God  may  be  taken  to-day.  But 
the  text  is  such,  and  the  theme  is  such  that  the  congre- 
gation may  be  left  in  a  state  of  unnecessary  and  undesir- 
able suspense.  There  is  an  obscurity  in  the  text  in  this 
— that  the  audience  will  not  at  once  see  why  the  glory 
departed  from  Israel  when  the  ark  of  God  was  taken. 
The  preacher  therefore  announces  his  divisions  in  ad- 
vance. He  says  that  he  will  consider  the  subject  in  con- 
nection with  four  questions  as  follows: 

( I )  What  does  it  mean  that  the  ark  of  God  is  taken  ? 
(2)  Why  is  the  ark  of  God  taken?  (3)  What  is  involved 
in  the  taking  of  the  ark  of  God?  (4)  How  is  the  ark  of 
God  restored  ?  It  will  be  seen  that  the  announcement  of 
these  divisions  in  advance  will  be  of  great  assistance  to 
the  preacher  in  the  discussion  of  his  theme,  and  in  no 


SERMON  BODY  103 

way  involve  that  anticipation  against  which  he  is  warned. 
But  suppose  the  preacher  intends  to  speak  concerning 
the  raising  of  Lazarus  from  the  dead,  in  connection  with 
the  criticism  of  the  unbeHeving  Jews,  as  the  company 
proceeded  to  the  sepulcher  (John  11:37),  "But  some  of 
them  said,  Could  not  this  man,  who  opened  the  eyes  of 
him  that  was  blind,  have  caused  that  this  man  also  should 
not  die?"  The  preacher's  theme  is  "Between  the  House 
and  the  Grave,"  as  indicative  of  the  point  at  which  our 
doubts  and  misgivings  are  most  likely  to  arise.  He  an- 
nounces his  divisions  as  he  treats  them,  one  at  a  time, 
(i)  The  unbelieving  Jews  here  make  a  tardy  confession 
of  what  Christ  had  already  done.  He  had  opened  the 
eyes  of  one  that  was  born  blind.  (2)  Here  is  a  sinister 
implication  of  what  Christ  might  have  done.  He  might 
have  caused  that  Lazarus  should  not  die.  (3)  Here  is 
woeful  doubt  and  ignorance  of  what  Christ  was  about  to 
do.  He  would  raise  Lazarus  again  from  the  dead.  The 
very  concealment  of  these  points  adds  to  the  beauty  and 
force  of  the  sermon  as  it  proceeds.  The  preacher,  there- 
fore, is  to  be  his  own  judge  in  the  matter,  and  no  rule 
can  be  given  of  an  inflexible  character  with  regard  to  the 
statement  of  divisions  in  advance.  Beecher  once  said, 
"When  you  have  finished  your  sermon,  not  a  man  in  your 
congregation  should  be  unable  to  tell  you  distinctly  what 
you  have  done,  but  when  you  begin  a  sermon  no  man  in 
the  congregation  ought  to  be  able  to  tell  you  what  you 
are  going  to  do." 

II.  What  should  be  the  number  of  divisions  in  a 
sermon?  Certainly  no  fixed  rule  can  be  given  with  re- 
gard to  this  matter.  Not  only  will  the  number  depend 
upon  the  text  which  is  treated,  and  the  subject  which  is 
announced ;  but  it  will  also  depend  in  a  measure  upon  the 
preacher's  own  habit     Some  men  do  better  work  with 


104  THE  STUDY 

fewer  divisions,  and  others  seem  to  require  more.  John 
Bright  contrasted  his  oratory  with  that  of  Gladstone  in 
the  following  words:  "Gladstone  goes  coasting  along, 
turning  up  every  creek  and  exploring  it  to  its  source 
before  he  can  proceed  upon  his  way,  but  I  have  no  talent 
for  detail.  I  hold  my  course  from  headland  to  headland 
through  the  great  seas."  Ordinarily,  we  believe  that  it 
is  better  that  the  divisions  should  be  by  the  headlands 
rather  than  by  the  creeks  and  bays. 

Very  frequently  the  sermon  will  fall  into  three  divi- 
sions. This  is  so  frequently  the  case  that  it  is  often  made 
the  subject  of  jest.  Some  preachers  avoid  the  threefold 
division  on  this  account ;  but  there  is  reason  for  it.  It  is 
often  the  natural  thing,  as  it  is  generally  the  logical  proc- 
ess, and  no  preacher  should  for  one  moment  think  of 
being  debarred  from  having  three  divisions  in  his  ser- 
mon because  it  has  been  made  the  occasion  of  so  much 
foolish  comment.  He  who  thinks  and  acts  independently 
in  this  matter  will  probably  find  after  a  number  of  years 
that  he  has  more  sermons  in  which  there  are  three  divi- 
sions than  sermons  in  which  there  are  any  other  number. 
But  of  one  thing  he  should  be  particularly  cautioned,  not 
to  have  more  divisions  than  are  positively  required  by 
the  treatment  of  his  subject.  It  has  been  well  said,  "It 
is  better  to  amplify  than  to  multiply."  And  one  should 
beware  particularly  of  subdivisions.  He  might  be  cau- 
tioned to  avoid  them  altogether,  for  they  are  generally 
unprofitable  and  productive  of  confused  thought.  An  old 
Highland  game-keeper  said  of  his  master  that  he  was 
a  good  sportsman,  but  "he  scatters  terribly."  So  it  may 
be  with  the  preacher.  This  matter  also  has  special  refer- 
ence to  extemporaneous  preaching,  as  we  shall  see  in  a 
subsequent  portion  of  our  book.  He  who  preaches  with- 
out notes  will  find  it  difficult  to  recall  a  number  of  sub- 


SERMON  BODY  105 

divisions,  and  will  preach  better,  more  easily,  and  more 
effectively,  when  even  his  main  divisions  are  not  unduly 
multiplied.  The  only  rule,  however,  which  can  be  given 
is  to  permit  the  text  or  subject  to  govern.  The  divisions 
should  be  natural,  not  artificial.  Whether  they  be  few  or 
many,  they  should  be  such  as  are  virtually  compelled  in 
order  to  a  complete  exhibition  of  the  truth  which  the 
preacher  desires  to  unfold. 

III.  What  should  be  the  nature  of  these  divisions? 
The  sermonizer  is  quite  likely  to  fall  into  fault  in  this 
matter  if  he  does  not  exercise  considerable  care.  He  will 
make  distinctions  in  his  divisions  which  are  not  real,  but 
imaginary  or  fictitious.  He  will  make  distinctions  where 
none  really  exist  in  his  text,  or  he  will  found  his  divi- 
sions upon  the  sound  or  meaning  of  certainly  compara- 
tively unimportant  words  or  passages  of  his  text,  whose 
significance  is  not  at  all  proportioned  to  that  of  other 
words  or  passages  which  he  may  be  inclined  to  neglect. 
Dr.  Watson  says:  "Whether  a  sermon  ought  to  be  par- 
celed out  into  heads  is  an  important  question.  Three 
detached  sermonettes  do  not  make  one  sermon,  but  on 
the  other  hand  a  handful  of  observations  tied  together 
by  a  text  are  not  an  organic  whole.  It  all  depends  on 
whether  the  heads  advance,  ascend,  accumulate,  or  are 
independent,  disconnected,  parallel.  Heads  are  either 
watertight  compartments,  in  which  case  you  can  not  pass 
from  one  to  the  other  and  are  exasperated  by  the  iron 
door ;  or  they  are  floors  of  a  tower,  in  which  case  one  will 
not  halt  till  he  reaches  the  top,  because  with  every  fresh 
ascent  he  gets  a  wider  view."  We  suggest  then  that 
the  following  qualities  should  be  found  in  such  divisions 
as  the  preacher  may  find  it  necessary  to  make: 

I.  They  should  be  comprehensive;  giving,  when  all 
of  them  are  taken  together,  a  full  exhibition  of  the  sub- 


io6  THE  STUDY 

ject,  and  each  giving  in  itself  a  full  exhibition  of  that 
portion  of  the  subject  which  the  preacher  is  engaged  in 
discussing. 

2.  They  should  be  co-ordinate.  This  relates  both  to 
their  value  and  their  character.  The  proposition  which 
is  set  forth  in  the  one  should  not  be  inferior  in  dignity 
and  force  to  the  proposition  which  is  set  forth  in  the 
other;  nor  should  the  observation  which  is  made  in  one 
division  be  of  a  totally  different  character  from  that 
which  is  made  in  another,  relating  to  some  alien  subject 
or  one  so  far  apart  from  the  other  divisions  that  they 
can  not  properly  be  joined  together. 

3.  Divisions  should  be  flowing;  that  is  to  say,  one 
should  pass  easily  and  naturally  from  the  first  to  the 
second ;  indeed,  we  may  even  say  inevitably.  The  articu- 
lation should  be  complete.  If  the  sermonizer  finds  that 
the  transition  from  one  division  to  another  is  abrupt  or 
violent,  he  should  so  modify  either  the  statement  of  his 
divisions,  or  the  method  whereby  he  passes  from  one  to 
the  other,  as  that  the  transition  shall  be  readily  accom- 
plished. Some  one  has  compared  it  to  the  rounds  in  a 
ladder ;  if  one  of  them  be  taken  out,  the  ascent  is  exceed- 
ingly awkward:  or  like  missing  a  step  in  descending  a 
flight  of  stairs,  resulting  in  a  violent  jar. 

4.  The  divisions  should  be  distinct.  There  should  be 
no  invasion  of  the  one  by  the  other. 

5.  They  should  be  unconventional.  It  is  easy  enough 
for  a  preacher  to  follow  traditional  models,  and  divide 
his  sermons  into  parts  upon  that  superficial  plan  which 
he  has  derived  from  insufficient  analysis  of  such  sermons 
as  he  has  heard  or  read ;  but 

6.  The  divisions  should  be  the  preacher's  own.  He 
should  present  his  own  view  of  the  subject  in  his  own 
order.    Some  of  the  best  preachers  which  the  Church  haa 


SERMON  BODY  i«7 

ever  known  have  refused  for  this  very  reason  to  consult 
commentaries  of  any  kind  until  they  had  first  formed 
their  own  plan  of  a  sermon  derived  from  a  given  passage. 
One  of  the  worst  things  a  preacher  can  do,  particularly 
a  young  preacher,  is  to  derive  a  plan  from  some  homi- 
letical  commentary  or  similar  work,  rather  than  working 
the  plan  out  for  himself.  It  is  the  destruction  of  his  orig- 
inality, and  seriously  impairs  his  own  logical  faculty. 

IV.  What  should  be  the  order  of  statement  in  the 
divisions  of  a  sermon?  This  question  is  not  easily 
answered,  because  logical  and  rhetorical  order  do  not 
always  correspond,  nor  is  the  logical  climax  by  any  means 
the  rhetorical  climax  of  a  discourse.  It  depends  very 
much  upon  two  things:  first,  the  preacher's  viewpoint; 
and,  second,  the  object  which  he  has  in  mind,  the  purpose 
which  he  wishes  to  accomplish.  Sometimes  the  rhetorical 
order  is  the  very  reverse  of  the  logical  order,  and  the 
preacher  finds  it  difficult  to  choose  between  them.  Ordi- 
narily, however,  it  is  better  to  consult  rhetoric  than  logic. 
This  is  because  the  sermon  should  be  arranged  with  refer- 
ence to  the  conclusion,  with  reference  to  the  effect  which 
the  preacher  hopes  to  produce.  He  wishes  to  encourage 
belief  and  promote  conviction,  and  bring  men  to  repent- 
ance and  edify  the  people  of  God.  He  is  not  con- 
cerned for  an  argumentative  triumph,  but  for  a  moral 
one;  so  his  very  logic  is  subjected  to  rules  other  than 
those  which  the  forensic  orator  would  adopt.  The 
words  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher  upon  this  subject  are 
so  full  of  good  sense  and  wise  suggestion  that  we  may 
quote  them  in  concluding  this  chapter.  He  says: 
"The  greatest  number  of  men,  particularly  uncultivated 
people,  receive  their  truths  by  facts  placed  in  juxtaposi- 
tion rather  than  in  philosophical  sequence.  Thus  a  line 
of  fact  or  a  series  of  parables  will  be  better  adapted  to 


io8  THE  STUDY 

most  audiences  than  a  regular  unfolding  of  a  train  of 
thought  from  the  germinal  point  to  the  fruitful  end.  The 
more  select  portion  of  an  intelligent  congregation,  on  the 
other  hand,  sympathize  with  truth  delivered  in  its  higher 
philosophic  forms.  There  is  a  distinct  pleasure  to  them 
in  the  evolution  of  an  argument.  They  rejoice  to  see  the 
structure  built  up  tower  upon  tower  and  story  upon  story. 
They  glow  with  delight  as  the  long  chain  is  welded  link 
by  link,  and  if  the  preacher  himself  be  of  this  mind,  and 
if  he  receive  the  commendations  of  the  most  thoughtful 
and  cultured  of  his  people,  it  is  quite  natural  that  he 
should  fall  wholly  under  the  influence  of  this  style  of 
sermonizing;  but  so  he  will  feed  one  mouth  and  starve 
a  hundred.  It  is  this  necessity  of  adaptation  to  the  in- 
numerable phases  of  human  nature  that  reacts  upon  the 
sermon  and  determines  the  form  which  it  shall  take." 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


THE  CONCLUSION. 

The  conclusion  too  often  neglected. 
It  should  be  in  mind  from  the  start. 
It  should  be  carefully  prepared  in  advance. 

Impromptu  appeals. 

"The  corpse  of  an  appeal." 
A  single  conclusion. 
Simple  and  modest. 


Read  Lyman's  "  Preaching  in  the  New  Age,"  V;  Broadus  "Preparation  and 
Delivery  of  Sermons,"  Part  II,  Chap.  II. 


yiii. 

THE  CONCLUSION. 

The  conclusion  of  the  sermon  is  often  neglected.  This 
sometimes  results  not  so  much  from  the  preacher's  desire 
or  intention,  but  from  his  lack  of  time.  He  has  perhaps 
done  all  that  he  should  do  by  way  of  study,  and  the  ser- 
mon has  been  well  prepared  up  to  a  certain  point ;  but 
beyond  that  point  he  either  neglected  his  work  trusting, 
it  may  be,  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment,  or  he  failed 
to  find  the  necessary  opportunity  for  its  completion,  and 
therefore  the  conclusion  is  crude  and  unworthy  of  his 
theme.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  indeed  for  preachers 
who  are  accustomed  to  speak  from  manuscript  to  care- 
fully write  out  only  the  body  of  the  discourse.  The  re- 
sult in  some  cases  is  a  lamentable  failure.  The  audience 
can  not  fail  to  discern  the  point  at  which  the  preacher's 
careful  preparation  ended  and  his  dependence  upon  the 
occasion  began.  Consequently  they  are  neither  pleased 
nor  edified. 

No  preacher  would  be  guilty  of  such  a  mistake,  how- 
ever little  the  time  at  his  command,  who  realized  that  the 
conclusion  was  the  most  important  part  of  the  sermon 
so  far  as  its  final  effectiveness  is  concerned.  Its  prepara- 
tion may  not  require  the  same  skill  as  that  which  must 
be  exhibited  in  the  introduction.  It  is  always  easier  to 
get  out  of  a  subject  than  to  get  into  one.  Nevertheless 
the  way  in  which  one  dismisses  his  subject,  or  seeks  to 


112  THE  STUDY 

bring  it  home  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  a  congre- 
gation, is  the  very  last  thing  to  be  slighted. 

Sometimes  the  preacher  seems  unable  to  adapt  a  con- 
clusion to  his  sermon  worthy  the  name.  This  may  be 
because  he  has  been  engaged  only  in  the  discussion  of  a 
theme.  He  is  not  intent  upon  preaching  in  the  full  mean- 
ing of  the  word.  But  the  two  things  are  as  far  apart 
as  the  Antipodes.  It  is  not  the  discussion  of  a  theme  in 
an  intellectual  fashion,  however  sacred  or  solemn  the 
theme  may  be,  which  results  in  preaching,  but  the  per- 
sonal application  of  the  truth  of  God.  Therefore,  the  one 
consideration  which  must  claim  our  particular  attention 
relative  to  the  conclusion  is  this  very  purpose  of  preach- 
ing. It  is  either  the  salvation  or  edification  of  men— ^ 
such  is  its  final  object.  After  all,  however,  these  two 
terms  which  we  have  employed  may  be  resolved  into  one. 
Salvation  may  be  construed  as  the  single  act  of  Almighty 
God  whereby  men  are  redeemed  from  sin  and  translated 
from  the  kingdom  of  darkness  into  the  Kingdom  of  His 
dear  Son ;  or  it  may  be  construed  as  a  progressive  work 
in  which  He  who  has  begun  it  continues  to  carry  it  on 
unto  perfection.  The  sermon,  therefore,  which  is 
preached  primarily  to  save  those  that  hear  must  be  in- 
vested with  edifying  features;  and  the  sermon  which  is 
preached  primarily  for  the  edification  of  the  hearers  must 
possess  saving  features.  If  this  be  not  so,  the  sermon  in 
either  case  is  so  far  forth  defective. 

The  conclusion,  therefore,  should  be  in  the  mind  of 
the  preacher  from  the  very  beginning  of  his  preparation. 
He  should  see  it  in  his  text  when  the  text  is  chosen ;  and 
before  he  begins  to  arrange  his  thought.  One  of  the 
first  questions  which  he  should  ask  himself  is  this:  Why 
do  I  preach  upon  this  text?  What  is  my  purpose  in  this 
discourse?     And  his  answer  should  be  found  in  some 


THE  CONCLUSION  113 

feature  which  looks  toward  the  salvation  or  edification 
of  his  people.  Then  everything  which  he  says  through- 
out the  discourse  will  be  bent  to  that  purpose.  His  very 
introduction  will  look  to  the  conclusion :  the  various  divi- 
sions of  the  sermon  body  will  look  to  it  also.  Then,  when 
the  conclusion  is  reached,  it  is  natural,  logical,  and  we 
might  almost  say  inevitable. 

If  this  distinct  purpose  is  not  in  the  preacher's  mind 
from  the  beginning  he  is  like  a  traveler  who  packs  his 
trunk  to  go  nowhere  in  particular.  He  may  store  it  with 
those  articles  which  he  thinks  may  be  useful  upon  his 
journey,  and  yet  if  his  determination  is  formed  after  his 
journey  has  been  begun,  he  may  find  that  he  has  included 
certain  useless  articles  which  are  only  impedimenta,  and 
forgotten  certain  other  articles  which  are  absolutely  es- 
sential to  his  trip.  Perhaps  he  prepared  as  though  he 
were  going  to  the  Tropics  when  his  destination  is  the 
Pole.  Where,  then,  are  you  going  in  this  sermon?  and 
whence  are  you  going  to  conduct  others?  and  by  what 
means  do  you  propose  to  get  there  ?  and  are  you  traveling 
upon  the  right  road  ?  and  is  it  likely  that  those  whom  you 
are  conducting  will  follow  you?  A  sermon  should  be 
constructed  somewhat  like  those  great  stockades  that  are 
built  by  game-drivers  in  Africa  and  elsewhere,  extending 
perhaps  over  several  miles  of  country,  but  converging  as 
they  proceed,  until  they  end  in  a  death  trap.  Those  who 
drive  the  game  begin  at  a  distance  with  much  noise  and 
other  means  whereby  to  alarm  the  game  and  drive  it 
between  the  stockades,  and  so  they  are  forced  onward 
until  they  fall  inevitably  into  the  trap. 

The  conclusion,  therefore,  should  be  most  carefully 
prepared.  Let  no  preacher  imagine  for  a  moment  that 
because  it  is  carefully  prepared  it  may  be  lacking  in  feel- 
ing, vehemence,  or  moving  power.    This  can  not  be  so 


114  THE  STUDY 

if  the  preacher's  heart  has  been  stirred  as  it  should  have 
'been  during  the  preparation  of  his  sermon.  There  are 
some  who  virtually  object  to  such  a  rule  as  this,  and  there 
are  a  few  who  habitually  and  consistently  avoid  the  care- 
ful preparation  of  a  conclusion,  because,  as  they  say,  they 
do  not  wish  to  write  down  their  closing  words  in  "cold 
blood."  But  if  there  is  any  danger  of  one's  writing  a 
conclusion  in  cold  blood  it  certaiinly  arises  out  of  the  fact 
that  the  body  of  his  sermon  has  been  prepared  in  cold 
blood.  The  preacher  who  is  stirred  and  moved  with  the 
great  thoughts  of  God,  which  he  is  endeavoring  to  elab- 
orate and  so  present  to  his  congregation  that  they  shall 
be  led  Godward,  can  not  be  cold  in  his  preparation  of 
the  discourse,  and  it  will  be  no  more  and  no  other  than 
the  indication  of  his  own  fervent  desire,  and  his  own 
scrupulous  care  for  the  effect  of  his  utterances,  that  he 
prepares  his  final  words  with  the  most  conscientious  and 
painstaking  attention. 

Some  of  the  greatest  orators  of  modern  times  have 
illustrated  this  rule  to  the  full,  and  spent  more  time  upon 
the  conclusion  of  their  orations  than  upon  any  other  part 
of  it.  Such  was  the  case  with  John  Bright.  Lord 
Brougham  revised  the  conclusion  of  his  celebrated  speech 
in  defense  of  Queen  Caroline  twenty  times.  The  perora- 
tion of  Burke's  arraignment  of  Warren  Hastings  was 
wrought  over  and  over  sixteen  times.  Yet  no  one  would 
think  of  saying  that  these  speeches  were  closed  in  cold 
blood. 

But  there  is  another  consideration  of  value  in  this 
connection,  that  a  preacher  is  not  obliged  to  present 
exactly  that  conclusion  which  he  has  so  carefully  pre-, 
pared.  It  may  be  that  he  will  be  prompted  by  the  occa-. 
sion  or  by  his  own  passion  to  say  something  else  than  that 
which  he  has  prepared,  or  to  express  his  thought  in  some- 


THE  CONCLUSION  115 

what  different  language.  There  is  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  do  so,  particularly  if  he  is  an  experienced  ex- 
tempore preacher.  In  this  case,  so  far  from  his  prepara- 
tion for  his  conclusion  interfering  with  the  flow  of  his 
passion,  and  the  modification  of  its  expression,  it  will  be 
a  positive  help  to  it.  It  will  temper  it,  control  it,  and 
direct  it  into  proper  channels. 

At  all  events  the  preacher  should  never  trust  to  the 
impromptu  appeal  after  a  carefully  prepared  sermon  body. 
If  one's  conclusion  is  to  be  purely  extemporaneous  it 
should  follow  a  sermon  of  like  character,  which  sermon, 
however,  we  believe  ought  never  to  be  presented.  Our 
mental  moods  are  altogether  too  uncertain  to  be  relied 
upon.  There  may  be  that  in  ourselves,  or  in  the  attitude 
of  the  congregation,  which  will  prevent  the  kind  of  an 
appeal  which  we  anticipated,  and  seriously  handicap  us 
in  the  effort  to  close  the  sermon  as  we  would  have  done. 
The  preacher  is  only  safe  when  his  conclusion  has  been 
prepared.  Therefore  he  should  prepare  some  conclusion, 
even  though  he  may  modify  it  under  the  stress  of  cir- 
cumstances. ~~ 

Some  particular  forms  of  the  conclusion  will  be 
treated  hereafter  in  connection  with  the  application,  and 
yet  another  question  which  touches  the  application  should 
be  asked  and  answered  here.  Should  the  conclusion 
always  take  the  form  of  an  appeal  ?  By  this  we  mean  a 
personal  address  to  the  hearers,  urging  them  to  specific 
action.  The  answer  to  this  question  is,  "Not  always," 
and  it  might  be  safe  to  say  "Not  generally,"  because  if 
the  sermon  body  has  been  what  it  should  be,  and  the 
preacher  has  had  that  solemn  purpose  in  mind  in  its 
preparation  and  delivery,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  then 
the  whole  sermon  will  be  of  the  nature  of  an  appeal,  even 
though  its  closing  portion  be  not  cast  in  that  exact  form. 


ii6  THE  STUDY 

Dr.  Watson  says:  "A  striking  and  elcxjuent  peroration 
(although  this  sounds  cruel  to  a  degree)  ought  to  be  sup- 
pressed. When  the  sermon  has  culminated  after  a  natural 
fashion  it  ought  to  end,  leaving  its  effect  to  rest  not  on 
rhetoric,  but  on  truth.  The  sermon  may  cease  suddenly 
because  the  audience  has  surrendered  without  terms,  and 
the  sermon  has  served  its  purpose.  Speech  can  be  too 
lengthy,  too  formal,  too  eloquent,  and  the  preacher  who 
says  most  sometimes  sacrifices  that  upon  which  he  might 
the  most  naturally  depend.  But  in  those  sacrifices  of 
self  the  preacher's  strength  lies.  On  them  the  blessing 
of  God  rests.  Broken  sentences  when  the  speaker  could 
not  continue,  unfinished  sermons  when  the  Spirit  of  God 
was  working  powerfully,  have  wrought  marvels  beyond 
all  the  wisdom  of  the  schools."  Dr.  Lyman  says :  "When 
we  are  through  let  us  stop.  I  know  a  minister  of  whom 
it  was  said  that  he  lacked  only  one  thing,  and  that  was 
terminal  facilities."  Sometimes  the  preacher,  out  of  his 
very  enthusiasm,  is  tempted  to  make  an  appeal  at  the 
close  of  a  sermon  when  people  are  not  in  a  mood  for  it, 
and  prolong  it  until  it  becomes  tiresome.  There  are  times 
when  a  ringing  appeal  is  of  the  utmost  value — when  a 
congregation  is  deeply  stirred,  when  consciences  are 
manifestly  reached,  when  men  certainly  appear  upon  the 
very  border  of  the  Kingdom,  and  only  need  a  little 
urgency  to  force  them  in.  Then  it  is  not  out  of  place  for 
the  preacher  to  prolong  his  appeal.  Such  is  sometimes 
the  case  in  great  evangelistic  meetings.  But  whether  the 
sermon  closes  with  an  appeal — longer  or  shorter,  or  does 
not,  the  pastor-preacher  must  learn  to  depend  more  upon 
the  inherent  force  and  vitality  of  the  truth  of  God  than 
upon  his  own  effort  apart  from  it.  President  Faunce, 
speaking  of  what  we  call  the  "New  Homiletics,"  says, 
"The  old-fashioned  'application'  and  'appeal'  at  the  end 


THE  CONCLUSION  117 

of  the  sermon  have  now  largely  vanished.  The  applica- 
tion should  come  all  the  way  through.  The  strongest 
possible  appeal  is  a  vivid  perception  and  presentation  of 
the  truth." 

It  is  a  very  noticeable  thing  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  seldom  enforced  a  formal  application,  either  in 
his  conversation  with  individuals  or  in  his  discourses  to 
the  multitude.  His  thoughts  were  so  arranged  that  those 
who  heard  Him  drew  their  own  conclusions,  and  gener- 
ally He  Himself  was  content  with  a  single  sentence — 
"Go  and  do  thou  likewise." 

One  has  well  said  that  above  all  things  the  preacher 
should  beware  of  "the  corpse  of  an  appeal."  The  con- 
clusion of  the  sermon  must  not  be  a  dead  thing,  and  no 
appeal  should  be  introduced  by  the  preacher  simply  for 
the  sake  of  good  form.  Let  him  say  nothing  that  it  is 
not  in  his  heart  to  say.  Let  him  manifest  no  urgency 
that  does  not  come  from  his  deepest  soul.  While  the 
preacher  is  preparing  his  sermon,  more  particularly  while 
he  is  preaching  that  which  he  has  carefully  prepared, 
everything  within  him  becomes  alive  and  energetic,  and 
moves  him  on  toward  one  final  great  impression.  He 
has  already  felt  it  in  the  silence  and  solitude  of  his  own 
study.  The  truth  has  found  him  and  moved  him,  and  it 
should  be  so  when  he  comes  before  his  congregation. 
This,  as  Dr.  Lyman  says,  is  the  unique  glory  of  our  call- 
ing. He  preaches  to  himself  while  he  is  preaching  to 
others.  The  truth  becomes  mighty  in  him.  He  stands 
as  in  the  very  presence  of  Christ:  he  is  an  ambassador 
for  Christ.  He  speaks  in  Christ's  name  from  beginning 
to  end.  He  is  full  of  zeal  for  his  Master.  If  such  be 
his  spirit,  his  method  will  not  be  seriously  at  fault.  The 
Gospel  of  Christ  will  be  in  a  sense  incarnate  in  him,  and 
men  will  be  moved  by  his  message. 


ii8  THE  STUDY 

The  preacher  should  have  only  one  conclusion.  He 
should  never  reach  a  climax  only  to  take  a  fresh  start 
in  order  to  reach  a  second.  His  conclusion  should  be 
single,  set  off  by  itself  as  distinctly  as  though  it  were  cut 
out  of  marble.  The  preacher  should  not  have  the  same 
conclusion  to  every  sermon.  It  should  be  his  earnest  de- 
sire and  his  constant  care  to  so  vary  his  method  in  clos- 
ing his  sermons  as  to  avoid  monotony.  This  will  be 
found  not  only  the  more  interesting,  but  very  much  the 
more  useful  because  no  two  parishioners  are  moved  in 
the  same  way.  If  the  preacher  is  a  fisher  of  men  he  may 
learn  from  the  expert  angler  to  carry  lures  of  different 
kinds,  and  to  change  his  flies  according  to  the  kind  of 
day,  the  waters  in  which  he  fishes,  the  season  of  the  year, 
or  those  flies  which  he  observes  about  him  sporting  over 
the  stream. 

As  to  the  very  last  word.  Luther  is  quoted  as  saying 
"When  thou  seest  thy  hearers  most  attentive  then  con- 
clude, for  so  they  will  come  again  the  more  cheerfully  the 
next  time."  But  the  preacher  should  so  conclude  in  his 
very  last  words  as  to  leave  no  impression  upon  the  minds 
of  his  congregation  that  he  is  seeking  any  glory  for  him- 
self, or  making  any  attempt  at  any  sort  of  display.  Let 
him  not  go  out  "in  a  blaze  of  glory."  Many  earnest,  con- 
scientious preachers  have  destroyed  the  effect  of  ser- 
mons, prepared  with  great  care  and  with  the  most  sincere 
motive,  by  ending  them  thoughtlessly,  perhaps,  with  some 
elaborate  figure  of  speech,  or  certain  sentences  which 
they  had  purposely  polished  to  the  last  degree.  It  should 
never  be  so.  The  preacher's  last  words  should  be  exceed- 
ingly simple,  modest,  and  plain — a  verse  of  Scripture 
perhaps;  the  lines  of  some  familiar  hymn  perhaps;  a 
solemn  question  perhaps;  or  a  simple,  earnest  statement 
of  fundamental  truth. 


MATERIALS. 


MATERIALS. 

I.  The  best  materials  derived  frojii  .general  knowledge. 

II.  The  best  materials  are  found  in  observation  and  con- 
vs'sation. 

1.  Conversation  v^ith  men. 

2.  Conversation  with  specialists. 

III.  Special  sources. 

1.  The  Scriptures. 

2.  Exegesis. 

3.  Theology. 

4.  Church  history. 

5.  Philosophy. 

6.  Sermons. 

7.  All  useful  books. 

IV.  The  use  of  materials. 

1.  The  correlation  of  studies. 

2.  The  utilization  of  learning. 

V.  The  ministry  of  nature. 


Read  Brastow's  "  Modern  Pulpit;"  Slattery's  "  Present  Day  Preaching,"  II-, 
Pattison's  "Making  of  the  Sermon,"  XIV;  Van  Dyke's  "  Days  Off;" 
Johnson's  "Ideal  Ministry." 


IX. 

MATERIALS. 

We  proceed  now  to  discuss  the  sources  from  which 
sermonic  material  is  to  be  obtained.  The  source  should 
be  suited  to  the  design  of  the  worker  as  in  all  other  kinds 
of  work.  The  man  who  proposes  to  build  a  frame  house 
does  not  expect  to  find  it  in  a  brick-yard ;  yet  this  is  the 
sort  of  thing  of  which  the  preacher  is  sometimes  guilty 
when  he  looks  for  sermon  material  from  those  sources 
which  are  not  proper  or  adequate  to  its  supply. 

Yet  this  remark  may  carry  with  it  a  mechanical  idea 
which  is  not  intended.  We  must  remember  that  sermons 
are  not  "built."  The  true  sermon  is  an  organism;  and 
our  illustration  might  be  more  in  place,  or  be  better  un- 
derstood, if  it  was  derived  from  the  growth  of  something 
which  has  life  in  it.  The  kind  of  soil,  for  example,  which 
is  best  for  the  vegetable,  or  the  kind  of  exposure  which 
is  best  for  the  tree. 

Before  proceeding  to  discuss  the  special  sources  from 
which  materials  are  obtained,  let  us  consider  two  matters 
of  a  more  inclusive  character. 

I.  The  best  materials  are  derived  from  the  preacher's 
general  knowledge  rather  than  from  any  special  prepara- 
tion with  a  view  to  a  particular  sermon.  Of  course,  there 
must  be  both  general  and  special  preparation,  but  if  we 
were  shut  up  to  one  of  the  two  we  should  very  greatly 

I2X 


122  THE  STUDY 

prefer  that  preparation  which  comes  from  a  preacher's 
general  knowledge,  to  that  special  preparation  which 
has  been  made  with  reference  to  the  occasion  only. 
Henry  Ward  Beeclier,  in  his  Yale  Lectures,  says, 
"Preaching  will  have  to  be  your  whole  business.  If  you 
are  going  to  be  professional  preachers,  if  you  will  make 
that  your  life  calling,  it  is  not  probable  that  there  is  one 
of  you  who  was  built  large  enough  to  do  anything  more 
than  that.  It  will  take  all  that  you  have  in  you  and  all 
your  time.  I  do  not  think  a  man  could  run  a  locomotive 
engine,  paint  pictures,  keep  school,  and  preach  on  Sun- 
days to  any  very  great  edification.  The  man  who  is  going 
to  be  a  successful  preacher  should  make  his  whole  life 
run  toward  the  pulpit."  This  would  imply  that  his  time 
and  thought  are  to  be  constantly  given  to  those  exercises 
and  occupations  in  which  he  shall  find  preparation  for 
his  work,  even  though  the  particular  subject  which  he 
proposes  to  discuss  may  not  be  in  his  mind.  It  is  said 
of  Mr.  Spurgeon  that  in  his  later  years  his  preparation 
for  a  sermon  consisted  of  a  few  memoranda,  the  fruit 
of  an  hour  or  two's  reflection  on  Saturday  evening.  Why 
was  it  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  able  to  preach  as  he  did 
with  so  little  special  preparation?  It  was  because  of  the 
materials  which  he  had  accumulated  during  a  life  spent 
in  equipping  himself  for  the  pulpit.  His  whole  life  "ran 
toward  the  pulpit."  His  study,  his  private  meditation, 
his  fellowship  with  men,  and  everything  else,  were 
governed  by  this  supreme  purpose;  and  he  had  preached 
so  long  and  after  so  much  special  preparation  that  it  was 
easy  for  him  to  do,  near  the  close  of  his  life,  what  every 
preacher  should  prepare  himself  to  do  after  the  same 
fashion. 

Very  often  the  sermon  which  is  not  prepared  out  of 
one's  general  knowledge,  but  only  out  of  that  special  read- 


MATERIALS  laa 

ing  and  thought  which  may  be  given  to  the  special  sub- 
ject, does  not  accomplish  its  full  purpose.  It  is  academic, 
stilted,  and  formal ;  it  is  apt  to  be  pretentious  and  pe- 
dantic. The  preacher  is  always  more  fresh,  interesting, 
and  practical  when  his  sermon  is  largely  the  outgrowth 
of  accumulated  scholarship  and  observation. 

Professor  James,  in  his  "Talks  to  Teachers,"  has  a 
paragraph  which  is  fully  applicable  to  preachers :  "They 
talk  much  in  pedagogic  circles  to-day  about  the  duty  of 
the  teacher  to  prepare  for  every  lesson  in  advance.  To 
some  extent  this  is  useful.  But  the  advice  I  should  give 
to  most  teachers  would  be  in  the  words  of  one  who  is 
herself  an  admirable  teacher.  'Prepare  yourself  so  well 
in  the  subject  that  it  shall  be  always  on  tap:  then  in  the 
class-room  trust  your  spontaneity  and  fling  away  all 
further  care." 

This  general  preparation,  as  we  shall  see,  should  not 
be  along  any  one  particular  line,  but  along  many  lines, 
all  of  them  however  converging  upon  the  pulpit.  Some 
preachers  avoid  certain  studies  and  pursuits  as  secular. 
Certain  books  they  will  not  read ;  certain  diversions  they 
will  not  practise  ;  the  company  of  certain  men  they  will  not 
seek,  because  they  think  these  things  are  not  in  keeping 
with  their  high  vocation.  This  is  a  grand  mistake.  There 
is  nothing  secular,  which  is  done  with  a  holy  purpose, 
except  that  which  is  positively  wicked.  Everything 
should  be  grist  which  comes  to  the  preacher's  mill,  if  he 
has  sought  to  find  it  in  the  right  spirit  and  to  employ  it 
in  the  right  way. 

In  order,  however,  to  the  use  of  this  general  knowl- 
edge the  preacher  must  diligently  cultivate  his  memory. 
Resources  are  of  no  value  if  they  are  not  at  command, 
and  it  should  be  the  preacher'^  aim  from  first. to  last  to 
have  his  acquisitions  at  his  own  disposaL    This  may  be 


124  THE  STUDY 

done  in  a  measure  in  ways  to  be  hereafter  suggested,  but 
it  is  well  to  emphasize  it  at  this  point. 

II.  The  best  sermonic  materials  are  those  of  observa- 
tion and  conversation.  The  preacher  should  not  be  a 
mere  doctrinaire,  a  mere  theorist :  his  work  must  be  vital, 
personal,  helpful.  There  must  be  in  it  an  adaptation  to 
the  real  needs  of  men.  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson,  in  his 
"Ideal  Ministry,"  has  a  fine  chapter  upon  this  subject, 
"The  Law  of  Adaptation."  He  defines  the  term  as  "say- 
ing the  right  thing  at  the  right  time  in  the  right  way." 
The  sermon,  therefore,  should  always  answer  some  defin- 
ite need,  and  have  respect  to  men  as  they  really  are,  and 
not  as  they  might  be  and  should  be.  Dr.  Johnson  pro- 
ceeds to  discuss  the  different  minds  and  temperaments 
which  the  preacher  finds  in  his  congregation  requiring 
treatment  according  to  their  respective  individualities. 
He  then  considers  the  differing  conditions  under  which 
sermons  may  be  delivered,  all  of  which  require  that 
the  preacher  should  be  many-sided,  as  he  can  only  be  by 
cultivating  the  habit  of  observation.  The  preacher  should 
know  how  men,  women,  and  children  think,  feel,  and 
act.  But  this  is  not  to  be  discovered  by  random  observa- 
tion, nor  by  indiscriminate  conversation  with  all  kinds 
of  people.  His  method  should  be  systematic,  intelligent, 
and  with  conscious  purpose.  Some  suggestions  may  be 
made  with  regard  to  the  matter. 

I.  It  will  be  well  for  the  preacher  to  talk  much  with 
men — with  men  rather  than  with  women.  It  is  some- 
what unfortunate  for  the  ministerial  profession  that  it 
is  necessarily  occupied  so  much  with  the  gentler  sex. 
This  is  because  women  are  more  generally  at  leisure 
than  men,  and  when  calls  are  made  upon  the  households 
of  his  parishioners,  the  preacher  is  very  apt  to  find  the 
men  absent.     Oftentimes  he  makes  no  special  effort  to 


MATERIALS  125 

find  them  in,  as  he  might  do  by  seeking  opportunities 
of  conversation  with  them  and  making  appointments  at 
their  convenience.  The  result  is  that  he  may  be  led  to 
look  upon  life  from  a  viewpoint  that  is  altogether  too 
feminine,  and  fail  to  obtain  that  vigorous  grasp  upon 
the  subjects  w^ith  which  the  busy  world  is  concerned, 
which  would  be  gained  if  his  conversation  was  more 
frequently  with  those  of  the  sterner  sex.  This  is  no 
reflection  upon  the  character  of  women,  nor  upon  their 
intellectual  attainments.  Their  views  of  life  in  its  varied 
forms  are  frequently  more  just  and  even  more  compre- 
hensive than  those  of  men.  They  have  loftier  aspira- 
tions and  more  zeal  for  the  Master;  but  even  so  it  can 
not  be  denied  that  the  preachr  must  needs  put  himself 
in  the  man's  position  more  frequently  than  he  does,  and 
learn  how  men  in  the  busy  world  think  and  reason. 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  declared  that  he  would  have  the 
theological  school  of  the  future  very  largely  a  "life 
school,"  which  expression  he  borrows,  of  course,  from 
the  study  of  art.  It  is  very  suggestive,  as  it  is  very 
characteristic  of  its  author.  He  defines  it  "as  studies 
to  understand  men  and  deal  with  them  face  to  face  and 
heart  to  heart,  and  mold  them  as  an  artist  molds  his  clay 
or  carves  his  statue."  And  Mr.  Beecher  himself  dili- 
gently followed  the  rule  which  he  would  have  beginners 
in  the  work  of  preaching  adopt.  In  his  autobiography 
he  tells  us  that  he  took  great  delight,  whenever  he  could 
get  the  chance,  of  riding  on  the  top  of  an  omnibus  with 
the  driver  and  talking  with  him.  In  this  way  he  said 
he  gained  sympathy  for  this  class  of  men,  and  learned 
to  recognize  the  brotherhood  of  men,  so  that  when  he 
saw  one  of  them  in  his  church  he  could  preach  to  him 
and  "hit  him  under  the  fifth  rib"  with  an  illustration 
very  much  better  than  if  he  had  not  been  acquainted 


126  THE  STUDY 

with  him.  Beecher  knew  every  gatekeeper  at  the  ferries 
on  which  he  was  accustomed  to  cross.  He  knew  the 
engineers  and  the  dock  hands,  all  of  them.  He  made 
it  his  practice  to  keep  in  touch  with  such  people,  and 
to  become  acquainted  with  their  work  and  their  ways, 
and  he  advised  young  ministers  to  "keep  very  close  to 
plain  folks."  "Don't  get  above  the  common  people," 
was  his  advice.  But  it  is  just  as  important  that  the 
preacher  should  become  acquainted  with  men  in  other 
callings  than  the  omnibus  or  the  engine  may  furnish. 
The  more  men  the  preacher  becomes  acquainted  with  for 
purposes  of  study  the  more  effective  he  is  likely  to  be- 
come.   Therefore  we  advise  further, 

2.  Talk  with  specialists ;  learn  their  secrets.  We 
should  discover  if  possible  why  they  are  interested  in 
their  work;  what  effect  it  has  had  upon  their  natures, 
and  how  we  may  derive  illustrations  from  them  for  prac- 
tical lessons  which  may  be  of  service  to  men  in  like 
pursuits. 

When  we  say  "talk  with  specialists,"  we  mean  to 
let  such  do  most  of  the  talking.  The  preacher  who 
would  gather  material  should  not  introduce  too  much 
of  his  business  in  conversation  with  a  man  who  is  in 
a  different  one.  Ask  questions,  draw  him  out,  be  a 
veritable  pupil  at  his  feet. 

Talk  with  men  and  women  who  "do  things."  They 
may  not  have  much  time  to  give  you;  but  what  time 
they  can  give  will  be  worth  hours  of  vapid  conversation 
with  men  that  do  no  more  or  other  than  they  are  told 
to  do. 

Talk  with  men  and  women  that  employ  and  direct 
other  men  and  women.  Talk  with  the  master-minds, 
the  leaders  of  thought,  the  superintendents  of  great  in- 
dustries, activities,  philanthropies,  and  missions.     Talk 


MATERIALS  117 

with  men  and  women  that  know  more,  see  more,  think 
more  than  you  do.  There  are  a  hundred  schools  for 
every  preacher  to  attend,  without  fees,  that  will  furnish 
him  with  rich  material  in  boundless  measure. 

The  conversation,  then,  is  to  be  a  selective  one ;  obser- 
vation likewise.  Do  not  be  too  careful  about  the  sub- 
jects. They  may  not  be  in  the  exact  line  of  the  preacher's 
work.  It  may  be  all  the  better  for  him  that  they  are 
out  of  his  line,  and  he  may  find  that  they  have  extensions 
into  the  very  sphere  of  thought  in  which  he  himself 
moves,  and  for  which  he  is  the  most  concerned.  Let 
us  be  very  teachable  in  the  presence  of  all  thinking  men, 
however  humble  the  thinker  may  be.  So  much  in  gen- 
eral. 

III.  There  are  some  special  sources  of  materials 
which  demand  our  attention  because  it  has  been  demon- 
strated over  and  over  again  that  the  man  who  relies  al- 
most, if  not  altogether,  upon  such  matters  as  those  just 
noted  may  be  a  shallow  man  after  all.  Self-made  men 
are  often  very  poorly  made.  Preachers  who  have 
no  other  resources  than  those  which  are  derived  from 
what  may  see  and  hear  in  the  society  that  is  about  them 
are  not  likely  to  be  of  great  service  to  the  world.  What 
they  are  able  to  see  is  not  broad  enough  or  big  enough. 
To  what  else  then  shall  we  resort? 

I.  The  most  important  special  source  of  sermon  ma- 
terial is  of  course  the  Holy  Scriptures.  These  must  be 
the  constant  study  of  the  preacher  if  he  is  to  fulfill  his 
calling.  Washington  Gladden  well  says,  "The  Christian 
minister  is  first  of  all  a  student.  He  studies  that  he  may 
teach.  One  reason  why  some  preachers  fail  is  unques- 
tionably found  in  this  that  they  are  not  students.  Their 
time  is  taken  up  with  a  variety  of  matters  whereby. their.. 
own  minds  and  hearts  are  not, .enriched..  ^  But  how  can 


X38  THE  STUDY 

they  teach  who  have  not  studied?  If  the  minister  is 
engaged  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  his  time  with  that  which 
does  not  prepare  him  for  his  pulpit  work,  he  should 
seriously  consider  the  case.  The  Bible  above  all  other 
books  will  be  the  subject  of  his  study.  From  it  alone 
can  we  learn  how  the  sinner  may  be  saved  and  sanctified. 
From  it  alone  can  we  learn  about  the  Christ  whose  name 
we  bear  and  confess,  and  whose  Gospel  it  is  the  business 
of  the  minister  to  proclaim."  Dr.  Blaikie  says,  "To  be 
able  to  grasp  the  great  purposes  of  divine  revelation 
as  a  whole ;  to  see  at  the  same  time  the  drift  and  bearing 
of  its  several  parts ;  to  apprehend  the  great  lessons  of 
the  various  histories,  biographies,  epistles,  and  other  mat- 
ters contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures;  to  make  one  part 
throw  light  on  another,  and  bring  out  the  chief  lessons 
of  the  whole,  are  attainments  of  inestimable  value  to 
the  preacher  of  the  Word."  And  this  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  should  be  such  that  the  preacher's  acquaintance 
with  it  will  enable  him  to  carry  his  people  into  the  deeper 
sense  of  it,  into  its  wonderful  movement  and  its  distinct 
revelations,  in  order  that  they  may  not  be  disturbed  by 
trifling  qiiestions  with  regard  to  certain  details  in  the 
Scripture  which  are  after  all  comparatively  unimportant. 

When  once  the  preacher  has  obtained  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  drift  and  purpose  of  the  Word  of  God, 
he  is  able  to  lift  his  people  up  to  so  high  a  plain  that 
those  questions  with  which  persons  on  the  lower  levels 
are  engaged  do  not  disturb  them. 

This  implies  to  begin  with  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  Bible  history.  Not  that  the  preacher  must  know  all 
about  every  person  who  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  but  that 
he  should  have  sufficient  information  with  regard  to  its 
principal  characters.  In  a  certain  company  of  ministers,  a 
remark  was  made  with  regard  to  "Jochebed's  children." 


MATERIALS  129 

One  who  was  present,  although  he  was  a  minister  in 
charge  of  a  very  important  pulpit,  and  preached  to  a  most 
intelligent  congregation,  did  not  understand  the  refer- 
ence. He  did  not  know  who  Jochebed  was.  Now  if  she 
had  been  some  very  unimportant  character  it  would  not 
have  been  strange,  but  when  it  is  remembered  that  she 
was  the  mother  of  Moses  his  ignorance  appears  inexcus- 
able. 

Another  influential  minister  spoke  to  a  large  congre- 
gation of  Paul's  "sailing  up  the  Tiber"  when  he  came 
to  Rome !  And  at  another  time  he  said  that  when  Joshua 
and  his  host  marched  about  Jericho  the  people  on  its 
walls  remarked  that  it  would  all  end  in  failure.  "They 
were  here  forty  years  ago,  and  went  back  into  the  wil- 
derness !"  Such  mistakes  are  worse  than  lamentable :  they 
make  the  minister  a  laughing-stock,  even  to  the  intel- 
ligent laymen  of  his  congregation. 

The  preacher  must  know  his  Bible.  The  very  least 
that  can  be  demanded  of  him  is  that  he  commit  no  mis- 
takes in  relating  its  historical  incidents.  The  first  source 
of  sermonic  material  is  the  facts  of  Scripture.  They 
take  precedence  of  every  other  kind  of  Biblical  knowl- 
edge. If  the  preacher  does  not  have  them  all  at  com- 
mand he  should  certainly  have  all  those  at  command 
which  are  connected  with  any  particular  sermon.  If  it 
be  not  so  the  preacher  is  positively  disqualified. 

The  preacher  should  also  remember  that  he  must 
study  the  very  words  of  the  passage  from  which  he  is 
to  preach.  He  commits  a  serious  error  when  he  studies 
only  about  the  passage  with  which  he  is  engaged.  This 
may  be  a  very  important  process,  but  it  is  by  no  means 
so  important  as  to  study  the  passage  itself.  Many  have 
done  this  who  never  discovered  what  the  passage  itself 
contained.     The  jewel  is  much  more  precious  than  the 


B3«  THE  STUDY 

•etting.  The  circumstances  under  which  the  passage  was 
written,  the  people  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  and  other 
matters  of  the  Hke,  may  occupy  the  preacher's  attention 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  truth  unto  edification  which  the 
passage  cotains.    This  implies,  therefore, 

2.  That  the  second  source  of  sermonic  material  is 
found  in  exegesis.  The  finest  essay  perhaps  that  Dr. 
Shedd  ever  penned  is  the  first  chapter  in  his  Homiletical 
and  Pastoral  Theology  entitled  "Eloquence  and  Exege- 
sis," from  which  we  have  already  quoted.  We  would 
that  every  one  in  the  ministry  to  whom  these  words  may 
come  might  read  it.  We  refer  the  reader  also  in  this 
connection  to  what  has  been  already  said  under  "Textual 
Analysis." 

3.  The  third  source  is  systematic  theology.  Many  a 
student,  after  he  leaves  the  theological  school,  abandons 
his  study  of  this  subject.  He  supposes  that  it  has  done 
its  work  for  him  while  he  was  still  in  the  seminary,  and 
can  be  no  longer  of  any  special  service  to  him.  It  may 
be  replaced  by  some  other  form  of  literature  which  he 
imagines  will  be  of  more  practical  use.  By  some  min- 
isters also  it  seems  to  be  regarded  merely  as  an  academic 
science  which  has  no  positive  hold  upon  the  mind  of 
thinking  people,  belongs  only  to  the  minister's  study, 
and  can  not  be  practically  employed  with  men  and  wo- 
men of  the  world.  And  very  considerable  is  said  against 
it  by  those  who  have  never  studied  it  themselves.  "Give 
us  a  quick  lunch"  cries  the  pew — as  Dr.  Jefferson  puts 
it,  and  the  pulpit  all  too  often  responds  with  alacrity. 
The  parishioner  frequently  declaims  against  sermons 
which  he  supposes  to  be  "theological ;"  and  even  the 
layman  who  betakes  himself  to  preaching  may  declare 
that  he  ,"has  no  use  for  theology,"  Neverthless  we 
col^lsel  that  the  preacher  should  continue  his  theological 


MATERIALS  131 

studies  during  his  entire  career,  and  he  will  find  in 
them  very  much  of  positive  and  permanent  value  in 
his  sermon  work.  Dr.  Watson  in  his  Cure  of  Souls 
remarks,  "All  this  railing  at  doctrine  is  simply  one  of 
the  innumerable  forms  of  modern  cant.  Theology  is 
an  absolute  intellectual  necessity.  No  one  can  hope  to 
teach  religion  in  even  its  simplest  form  with  permanent 
success  without  a  competent  knowledge  of  theology,  any 
more  than  a  physician  can  practise  medicine  without  a 
knowledge  of  physiology,  or  an  engineer  can  build  a 
bridge  who  has  not  learned  the  higher  mathematics. 
Without  a  system  in  the  background  of  his  mind  the 
preacher's  ideas  will  have  no  intellectual  connection  or 
artistic  proportion.  Without  a  system  underlying  his 
sermons  he  can  not  grip  and  impress  his  hearers.  His 
own  creed  will  be  a  chaos."  But  this  does  not  mean 
that  systematic  theology  in  its  formal  theological  form 
is  preachable.  This  particular  matter  will  be  pursued 
hereafter  when  we  come  to  consider  the  doctrinal  sermon. 
Systematic  theology  is  a  source  of  material,  but  it  is 
material,  so  to  speak,  in  the  rough.  The  preacher  must 
continue  to  study  it,  but  his  knowledge  of  it  must  be 
recast  when  it  appears  in  sermonic  form.  Otherwise 
preachers  are  not  qualified  for  their  work,  and  the  think- 
ing people  among  their  hearers  will  soon  discover  that 
they  know  no  more  than  themselves  upon  the  highest 
subjects.  Morever,  this  study  of  theology,  instead  of 
leading  one  into  dogmatism,  as  is  commonly  supposed, 
has  precisely  the  opposite  effect;  because  the  thorough 
student  of  theology  has  traversed  the  ground  in  connec- 
tion with  various  theories  advanced  by  different  authors. 
He  is  acquainted  with  their  writings,  he  knows  their 
views  and  doubts  and  differences.  He  becomes  not  only 
modest  in  his  declaration  of  truth,  but  learns  to  present 


132  THE  STUDY 

that  truth  which  has  been  thoroughly  weighed  and  tested. 
In  that  case  he  is  likely  to  speak  with  great  influence 
and  much  authority. 

This  study  of  exegesis  and  theology  gives  to  the 
preacher  three  advantages  which  should  be  noted  in  this 
connection. 

( 1 )  He  is  very  bold  in  his  statement  of  his  convictions 
with  regard  to  divine  truth.  This  makes  him  a  strong 
preacher.    It  clothes  him  with  authority. 

(2)  He  has  somewhat  to  preach  which  has  substance 
and  depth  to  it.  Dr.  D.  S.  Schaff  has  well  said  in  this 
connection:  "If  too  much  attention  is  given  to  mere 
preaching  the  preacher  will  soon  have  nothing  to  preach." 
If  we  mean  to  devote  ourselves  to  "Applied  Christianity" 
we  must  be  very  sure  to  start  with  that  we  have  some 
positive  and  permanent  Christianity  to  apply. 

(3)  It  enable  him  to  set  truth  in  the  proper  per- 
spective. The  first  things  are  first  with  him.  Those 
which  occupy  the  foreground  are  correctly  placed.  It 
is  only  when  the  preacher  has  thought  the  whole  thing 
through  as  carefully  as  he  can,  and  with  such  help  as 
he  has  been  able  to  command,  that  he  is  able  to  co-or- 
dinate the  doctrines  of  the  word  of  God  and  show  their 
proper  relation  the  one  to  the  other. 

The  preacher  may  be  advised  in  this  connection  not 
only  to  keep  up  his  studies  in  general  theology,  but  also 
to  read  monographs  on  various  theological  subjects  by 
those  who  are  masters  of  their  profession,  and  which  ap- 
pear from  time  to  time. 

4.  The  fourth  special  source  of  sermon  material  is 
Church  History,  This  includes,  of  course,  such  a  general 
survey  of  the  history  of  the  Church  from  the  apostolic 
times  as  is  included  in  the  seminary  curriculum,  but  in 
addition  to  this  the  student  should  acquire  and  diligently 


MATERIALS  133 

read  the  most  useful  works  which  he  can  obtain  upon 
special  aspects  of  ecclesiastical  history.  While  we  do 
not  live  in  the  past  but  in  the  present,  very  much  may 
be  derived  from  the  history  of  the  early  Church  and  of 
the  mediaeval  Church  distinctly  applicable  to  the  times 
in  which  we  live.  Such  works  for  example  as  Uhlhorn's 
"Conflict  of  Christianity  with  Heathenism,"  and  De 
Pressense's  "Ancient  World  and  Christianity,"  are  never 
out  of  date,  and  the  author  may  be  pardoned  for  also 
mentioning  his  own  work,  "The  History  of  the  Prepara- 
tion of  the  World  for  Christ."  The  student  should  also 
be  familiar  with  the  history  of  his  own  denomination; 
the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  land  in  which 
he  lives ;  and  very  particularly  the  history  of  Christian 
missions  in  their  origin  and  their  extension  throughout 
the  world.  He  will  find  in  these  studies  very  valuable 
material  for  the  enrichment  of  his  sermons  upon  a  multi- 
tude of  subjects  derived  from  the  word  of  God. 

The  old,  familiar  saying  tells  us  that  "history  repeats 
itself;"  but  too  few  students,  even  if  they  really  believe 
this  statement,  understand  what  it  contains.  Of  course, 
it  does  not  mean  that  men,  events,  customs,  and  the  like 
are  positively  duplicated.  It  does  not  even  mean  that 
the  situation  is  exactly  reproduced.  But  it  does  mean 
that  regarding  character,  motive,  and  habit  in  the  whole, 
there  is  no  radical  change  from  age  to  age.  Therefore 
our  understanding  of  the  past  enables  us  to  interpret  the 
present,  and  fundamental  principles  derived  from  the 
study  of  what  has  been  may  be  relied  upon  as  applicable 
to  what  is  and  what  is  to  be.  Therefore  old  Thomas 
Fuller  was  right  when  he  said :  "Of  all  branches  of 
learning  history  best  becometh  a  gentleman — Church  his- 
tory a  Christian."  Professor  James  says:  "The  chang- 
ing conditions  of  history  touch  only  the  surface  of  the 


134  THE  STUDY 

show."  History  is  the  great  interpreter  of  Providence, 
and  of  the  Scriptures  also.  As  such  it  is  a  fertile  source 
of  sermonic  material. 

So  far,  it  will  appear,  we  have  alluded  to  those 
branches  of  learning  which  belong  to  the  curriculum  of 
the  theological  seminary.  If  this  is  noted  by  the  reader 
let  it  be  said  that  the  writer  is  a  thorough  believer  in 
them  as  the  means  of  equipping  the  preacher  for  his 
work. 

5.  Ethics,  philosophy,  psychology.  The  same  sugges- 
tion may  be  given  with  regard  to  these  studies  which 
has  been  given  with  regard  to  Church  History — it  is  well 
for  the  preacher  to  read  the  best  monographs  upon  these 
subjects.  Let  him  consult  the  best  books  as  they  appear. 
It  is  sometimes  objected  to  these  studies  that  they  tend 
to  make  a  preacher  too  metaphysical,  and  accustom  him 
to  preach  in  language  which  his  people  can  not  under- 
stand, but  it  does  not  follow  that  because  he  himself  is 
engaged  with  these  studies  that  he  should  retail  them  to 
his  hearers  in  technical  terms.  No  man  can  become  an 
arithmetician  who  has  not  studied  algebra.  No  more 
can  one  preach  the  gospel  as  effectively  as  he  might 
preach  it  who  has  not  dealt  somewhat  with  the  profound. 
The  advice  which  was  given  by  an  older  preacher  to  a 
younger  one,  as  q-uoted  by  Broadus,  is  most  excellent: 
"Read  Butler  and  preach  to  negroes."  This  is  the  very 
finest  literary  art,  to  simplify  the  profound ;  but  one  must 
be  able  to  understand  the  profound,  and  understand  it 
thoroughly,  before  he  is  qualified  to  simplify  it.  The 
best  work  which  a  preacher  can  do  is  to  set  his  people 
to  thinking  deeply  upon  the  most  important  subjects. 
This  is  to  be  done  only  when  he  starts  upon  their  own 
level,  and  gradually  conducts  them  to  higher  ground  with 
which  he  has  first  made  himself  acquainted. 


MATERIALS  135 

6.  Sermons.  Materials  for  our  own  sermons  are  very 
often  secured  from  the  sermons  of  others,  and  the  stu- 
dent ought  by  no  means  to  neglect  them.  Very  fre- 
quently the  minister  has  a  positive  distaste  for  other 
men's  discourses,  though  sometimes  he  makes  use  of 
them  to  his  own  undoing.  Bishop  Quayle  has  a  very 
suggestive  section  upon  this  subject.  He  says:  "Every 
sermonizer  should  use  every  occasion  possible  to  hear  his 
brother  ministers  preach.  He  should  listen  to  them  in 
a  respectful  mood.  If  he  comes  with  a  critic's  mien,  then 
he  had  far  better  not  come  at  all.  No  preaching  will  do 
a  critic  good.  He  is  immune  to  the  reception  of  good. 
If  a  preacher  goes  to  hear  another  preacher  preach  so  as 
to  bolster  up  his  own  opinion  of  himself,  and  so  minister 
to  self-opinionation,  then  he  is  not  only  violating  a  Chris- 
tian propriety,  but  he  is  distinctly  crude."  He  testifies 
to  his  own  delight  in  listening  to  his  brother  ministers, 
and  to  his  own  reading  of  their  sermons  at  times  when 
they  could  not  be  personally  heard.  One  Sunday  in  New 
York  he  listened  to  Dr.  Burrell,  Dr.  Jefiferson,  and  Dr. 
Hillis,  and  he  says  with  regard  to  that  day's  experience: 
"How  spacious  the  habitation  of  that  Lord's  Day." 
Preachers  should  obtain  volumes  of  the  best  sermons, 
particularly  of  those  men  whose  preaching  has  formed 
a  distinct  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  pulpit,  and  marked 
a  decided  change  in  the  method  of  presenting  gospel 
truth.  Among  such  may  be  mentioned  St.  Chrysostom, 
Savonarola,  Canon  Lyddon,  Robertson,  Chalmers,  Bush- 
nell,  Spurgeon,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Phillips  Brooks, 
D.  L.  Moody,  and  Watkinson.  There  are  also  volumes 
of  sermons  selected  from  different  masters  of  the  pulpit 
art  which  are  accessible  to  the  student.  Such  sermons 
should  be  carefully  analyzed  by  him.  He  should  seek 
the  source  of  these  preachers'  power,  and  while  imitating  r^^ 


136  THE  STUDY 

none  of  them  he  should  learn  to  govern  himself  accord- 
ingly. He  will  find  also  in  some  good  history  of  preach- 
ing, such  as  Brastow's  "Modern  Pulpit,"  a  survey  of 
the  characteristic  methods  of  different  periods,  and  a  re- 
view of  the  work  of  different  preachers  in  historical 
order,  which  will  be  of  vast  service  to  him  in  his  own 
sermon  work. 

7.  All  kinds  of  useful  books.  And  yet  the  preacher's 
use  of  books  is  to  be  exercised  with  very  great  care.  One 
of  the  first  things  that  the  young  preacher  should  learn  is 
the  absolute  worthlessness  for  the  preacher's  purposes 
of  the  vast  majority  of  books  issued  from  the  press. 
Many  men,  and  they  are  not  all  preachers  by  any  means, 
seem  to  imagine  that  it  is  a  most  commendable  desire  to 
accumulate  a  large  library,  and  that  their  attainments 
are  to  be  judged  by  the  number  of  books  that  may  be 
found  upon  their  shelves.  Young  preachers  particularly 
are  often  beguiled  into  buying  books  which  will  prove 
of  no  positive  service  to  them.  It  is  not  the  number 
which  they  possess,  nor  even  the  number  which  they  have 
read,  which  furnishes  them  for  their  great  work,  but  the 
positive  adaptation  of  such  books  as  they  read  to  their 
high  purpose,  and  their  ability  to  command  their  con- 
tents. Dr.  Shedd  has  well  said :  "The  giants  in  theology 
have  dared  to  let  many  books  go  unread  that  they  might 
be  profoundly  versed  in  revelation." 

Nevertheless  the  student  is  to  be  reminded  that  the 
reading  of  books  is  very  greatly  to  be  preferred  to  the 
reading  of  current  ephemeral  literature.  Many  a  man 
gives  altogether  too  much  time  to  the  perusal  of  his  daily 
newspaper  to  the  neglect  of  much  more  important  and 
useful  work.  A  minister  would  not  be  very  sadly  handi- 
capped if  he  never  saw  a  daily  newspaper,  provided  he 
was  the  reader  of  some  good  weekly  paper  which  would 


MATERIALS  137 

give  him  the  news  that  was  worth  knowing  in  condensed 
form  with  suitable  comment.  This  is  not  to  disparage 
the  daily  newspaper.  It  certainly  performs  a  very  im- 
portant service  and  meets  a  very  manifest  need  of  our 
civilization,  but  it  is  dreadfully  abused  both  in  its  publi- 
cation and  in  its  perusal.  Nor  is  the  minister  very  spe- 
cially assisted  by  the  popular  magazines  of  the  day.  At 
all  events  he  should  very  carefully  discriminate  between 
them.  Some  of  them  are  published  for  no  other  purpose 
than  that  of  amusement;  they  furnish  the  reader  with 
no  valuable  information  and  with  no  valuable  motive.  It 
would  be  better  to  dismiss  most  of  them  entirely  from  the 
home.  Let  the  preacher  confine  himself  to  comparatively 
few  weeklies  and  monthlies,  and  make  a  careful  selection 
of  those  that  will  teach  him  the  most,  and  the  most  help 
his  spiritual  life  and  his  spiritual  leadership. 

The  kind  of  books  which  a  minister  is  to  buy  is  not 
easily  specified.  We  have  said  "all  kinds  of  good  books." 
It  is  even  well  for  him  to  read  the  standard  novels,  be- 
cause in  this  age  in  which  we  live  the  best  novels  are 
not  mere  romance  fancifully  constructed  with  a  view  to 
gaining  the  attention  and  exciting  the  curiosity,  but  they 
are  representative  of  a  serious  purpose  on  the  part  of 
their  authors ;  to  set  forth  some  great  and  salutary  truth, 
to  counteract  some  grievous  error,  to  correct  some  ma- 
licious abuse,  or  in  some  other  way  to  benefit  society. 
Garvie  says  concerning  this  matter :  "Surely  the  'Scarlet 
Letter'  helps  us  to  realize  more  intensely  and  distinctly 
what  remorse  is.  From  Romola  we  may  learn  how  sui- 
cidal is  selfishness.  In  Silas  Mariner  we  discover  some- 
thing of  the  laws  of  a  soul's  ruin  and  recovery."  So  it 
is  with  other  more  recent  novels.  The  same  may  be  said 
with  regard  to  certain  great  dramas,  and  the  work  of 
certain  great  poets.    If  they  do  ao  more  for  the  preacher 


138  THE  STUDY 

than  to  stimulate  his  imagination  they  do  much,  but  their 
service  is  by  no  means  exhausted  in  this  one  particular. 
Many  of  them  will  show  him  the  secret  depths  of  the 
human  heart  and  how  they  may  be  penetrated;  the 
noblest  aspirations  of  the  human  soul  and  how  they  may 
be  evoked ;  the  deepest  despair  of  conscious  guilt  and 
how  it  may  be  escaped ;  the  longing  for  salvation,  of 
standing  with  God,  and  of  eternal  bliss,  and  how  it  may 
be  satisfied.  Books  of  science  may  also  be  read  by  the 
preacher  and  be  of  great  service  as  material  for  his  pul- 
pit work ;  books  of  travel,  and  we  believe  beyond  every- 
thing else,  biography.  The  lives  of  the  best  men  that 
the  world  has  known  should  be  read  by  the  preacher,  and 
he  may  draw  from  them  needful  inspiration  for  many  a 
sermon  upon  the  practical  aspects  of  life. 

Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  has  an  admirable  section  upon 
the  proper  method  of  selecting  books.  It  contains  among 
others  the  following  wise  suggestions:  "Do  not  buy  a 
book  simply  because  it  is  cheap.  Do  not  buy  a  book 
upon  a  publisher's  notice,  no  matter  how  flattering.  Do 
not  buy  a  book  until  the  approving  judgment  of  time  has 
been  waited  for,"  and  so  on.  One  danger  to  the  preacher 
in  the  selection  of  his  books  is  found  in  the  tendency  to 
become  semi-religious,  from  the  attention  given  to  books 
that  are  not  wholly  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  man- 
kind. 

The  man  should  buy  no  more  books  than  he  can  make 
use  of.  As  one  has  well  said,  he  should  be  a  "living  cata- 
logue of  his  own  library."  If  he  has  read  a  book,  how- 
ever valuable,  only  to  lay  it  aside  and  forget  everything 
which  it  contains,  he  might  far  better  have  saved  him- 
self the  time  and  the  labor  expended  in  reading  it.  It 
will  be  well  for  the  student,  therefore,  to  make  notes  of 
the  best  things  in  the  books  which  he  reads,  and  even  to 


I 


MATERIALS  X39 

compile  some  sort  of  an  index  of  his  own  to  his  library, 
so  that  that  which  he  has  upon  its  shelves  may  be  at  his 
command.  In  some  way  at  least,  he  should  diligently 
cultivate  his  own  memory  of  the  contents  of  his  books. 
If  he  can  do  nothing  more  he  should  run  over  the  shelves 
quite  frequently  after  they  begin  to  be  somewhat  numer- 
ous, occasionally  taking  out  this  book  and  that  which  he 
read  some  time  ago,  and  refreshing  his  mind  with  regard 
to  its  contents.  He  should  so  classify  the  books  in  his 
library  that  those  on  one  subject  should  always  be  found 
together,  whether  they  are  of  the  same  size  and  bound 
in  the  same  way  or  not ;  and  what  is  better  than  all  else, 
he  should  seek  occasion  frequently  to  converse  with 
others  upon  the  books  with  which  he  is  engaged.  Noth- 
ing so  aids  the  memory  in  this  matter  as  the  comparison 
of  judgments.  When  one  has  talked  over  a  book  with 
another  he  is  not  likely  to  forget  the  more  important 
things  which  are  contained  in  it. 

The  preacher  should  also  learn  how  to  utilize  certain 
valuable  pamphlets  that  come  to  him  from  time  to  time. 
In  most  libraries  they  are  nothing  but  rubbish,  if  indeed 
they  are  preserved  at  all ;  but  a  distinct  place  should  be 
reserved  for  them  in  the  minister's  library.  It  is  well 
after  a  number  have  been  accumulated  through  a  course 
of  years  to  preserve  the  best  and  bind  them  in  separate 
volumes,  each  under  some  general  subject,  and  a  sepa- 
rate blank  book  should  be  kept  by  the  minister  in  which 
all  those  pamphlets  which  he  has  preserved  are  carefully 
indexed. 

One  thing  more  should  be  said  before  we  leave  this 
part  of  the  subject.  It  is  true  that  very  many  of  our 
ministers,  the  majority  of  them  indeed,  are  poor  men 
and  can  not  afford  to  buy  many  books,  so  that  it  might 
seem  as  though  many  of  the  suggestions  which  are  offered 


I40  THE  STUDY 

in  this  connection  are  valueless  to  them.  What  shall  be 
done  in  their  case?  Very  much  may  be  done  to  begin 
with  by  the  circulating  libraries  of  the  day.  Thanks  to 
Mr.  Carnegie  and  the  multiplication  of  libraries  which 
he  has  instigated,  a  good  library  is  not  very  inaccessible 
to  any  minister.  He  may  either  visit  it  himself  occasion- 
ally, or  he  may  engage  one  of  his  brethren  to  visit  it  in 
his  behalf,  and  obtain  such  books  as  he  has  seen  noticed 
and  which  he  desires  to  read.  These  libraries  will  gener- 
ally obtain  any  book  whose  purchase  is  requested  by  a 
reputable  patron,  and  there  is  really  no  difficulty  in  any 
aspiring  minister  obtaining  such  help  as  he  may  need 
in  this  way.  Brother  ministers  also  who  are  blessed  with 
large  libraries  are  always  willing  to  lend  their  books  to 
their  less  favored  brethren.  Again,  the  poor  minister  is 
to  remember  that  he  does  not  require  very  many  books 
after  all,  as  we  have  already  noted.  It  is  true  in  every 
branch  of  literature  that  one  author  borrows  much  from 
another,  and  one  or  two  good  books  upon  any  given  sub- 
ject will  often  teach  the  minister  all  that  he  requires  to 
know,  and  while  good  books  furnish  him  with  an  immense 
amount  of  valuable  sermonic  material,  yet  he  is  to  re- 
member that  the  best  material,  as  we  have  already  noted, 
is  to  be  derived  from  his  own  personal  knowledge  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  using  the  few  simple  helps  which  he 
can  certainly  secure.  Then,  if  his  own  heart  and  life  be 
fed  upon  the  living  Word,  he  will  be  able  to  dispense  it 
to  others  with  no  fear  of  falling  short  of  their  require- 
ments and  desires. 

IV.  After  the  preacher  has  once  obtained  his  ma- 
terials from  such  sources  what  is  he  going  to  do  with 
them  ?  One  may  be  a  great  student  and  a  great  igno- 
ramus at  the  same  time.  As  those  who  possess  a  large 
amount  of  property  yielding  no  income  are  called  "land- 


MATERIALS  141 

poor,"  so  it  may  be  said  with  regard  to  certain  students 
that  they  are  "learning-ixjor."  Their  study  does  for  them 
exactly  what  their  property  does  for  the  others.  It  is  a 
drain  upon  their  time,  their  strength,  and  their  effort, 
but  contributes  nothing  to  their  usefuhiess.  It  is  some- 
times said  with  regard  to  one  that  "he  has  forgotten 
more  than  the  other  man  knows."  It  is  regarded  as  a 
compHment,  but  it  is  far  otherwise ;  it  is  a  positive  re- 
flection upon  him.  The  man  who  has  acquired  much 
only  to  forget  it,  or  to  fail  to  make  use  of  it,  is  not  the 
better  man  of  the  two.  The  one  who  knows  but  little, 
if  his  knowledge  is  at  command  and  is  put  to  use,  is  by 
far  his  superior. 

One  may  also  be  a  great  student  and  be  a  very  poor 
teacher,  and  as  preaching  is  first  of  all  teaching,  is  in  fact 
the  very  highest  form  of  teaching,  one  may  be  a  great 
student  and  a  poor  preacher.  The  old  proverb  reads: 
"Fear  the  man  of  one  book."  There  is  a  vast  amount 
of  meaning  in  it,  though  it  can  not  be  pressed  to  its  full 
conclusions.  Yet  it  is  manifestly  true  that  those  men, 
in  professional  life  as  well  as  those  men  in  commercial 
life,  who  turn  over  their  capital  often  are  the  men  who 
are  most  speedily  enriching  themselves  and  benefiting 
those  about  them.  In  fact,  there  is  a  positive  evil  in  too 
much  study  or  too  much  reading.  Oftentimes  instead 
of  coTTtributing  to  one's  self-confidence,  it  has  the  oppo- 
site effect.  There  have  been  those  who  have  long  de- 
layed the  publication  of  books  for  which  they  were  well 
equipped  because  as  they  progressed  in  their  studies  they 
found  more  and  more  to  be  learned,  and  the  publication 
of  the  book  was  indefinitely  delayed.  There  have  been 
those  who  sought  to  be  teachers  of  others  who,  from  the 
very  studying  which  they  had  already  done,  became  the 
more  and  more  impressed  with  their  own  ignorance,  and 


X42  THE  STUDY 

their  teaching  work  was  delayed  until  they  were  incom- 
petent to  teach  by  reason  of  their  self -distrust.  Another 
danger  of  too  much  reading  is  the  tendency  to  become 
dependent  upon  the  opinions  and  judgments  of  others, 
rather  than  to  form  our  own  independent  judgment  and 
minister  to  the  strength  of  our  own  proper  individuality. 
One  may  be  "deep  versed  in  books  but  shallow  in  him- 
self." For  some  such  source  we  imagine  arises  the 
predjudices  which  some  ignorant  people  have  against  what 
they  call  "book-larnin'."  It  is  supposed  to  be  a  very 
foolish  prejudice,  the  result  only  of  gross  ignorance;  but 
there  may  be  reason  for  it,  for  sometimes  those  who  are 
not  themselves  learned  in  books  have  natural  talents,  a 
keen  observation,  and  a  positively  ripe  judgment  con- 
cerning the  scholarship  of  others,  and  no  prejudice  is 
ever  excited  among  ignorant  people  concerning  learning 
when  it  is  properly  employed. 

Some  suggestions  may  therefore  be  offered  in  closing 
this  part  of  the  subject. 

1.  Let  the  student  correlate  his  studies.  Do  not  pass 
too  quickly  from  one  subject  to  another.  Do  not  distract 
the  mind  with  a  variety  of  topics.  Study  for  a  time  on 
one  topic ;  pursue  one  general  subject.  View  it  first  from 
this  side  and  then  from  that  side.  Read  what  this  au- 
thor has  to  say  concerning  it,  and  what  that  author 
furnishes,  and  then  endeavor  to  form  your  own  judgment 
with  regard  to  the  matter. 

2.  Utilize  your  learning  as  soon  as  possible.  Make 
use  of  it  in  the  pulpit  as  soon  as  it  has  become  assim- 
ilated. Do  not  do  it  too  quickly ;  allow  the  matter  to  rest 
in  the  mind  until  the  mind  itself  has  become  accustomed 
to  it  and  has  learned  how  to  employ  it,  and  yet  let  one 
determine  within  himself  to  put  it  to  some  good  use 
as  soon  as  it  can  well  be  done.     By  all  means  let  the 


MATERIALS  143 

preacher  not  study  anything  simply  because  he  desires 
to  study.  This  is  the  most  foolish  and  useless  thing  that 
he  can  possibly  do  in  this  line.  The  man's  learning  must 
constantly  be  put  into  his  capital,  his  working  capital; 
it  must  not  be  like  money  in  a  stocking,  hidden  behind 
the  baseboard.  He  must  continue  to  accumulate  it,  but 
not  to  hoard  it.  It  must  be  like  his  checking  account  in 
the  bank,  liable  at  any  time  to  be  called  out:  and  this 
disposition  on  the  part  of  the  student  will  give  him  a 
certain  reserve  power  which  is  of  immense  value  to  him. 
Broadus  well  says  with  regard  to  it :  "When  the  preacher 
speaks  from  great  fullness  of  thought,  then  what  he  says 
bears  power  from  what  is  in  reserve  as  the  head  of  water 
gives  force  to  that  which  strikes  upon  the  wheel."  More 
than  this,  he  will  have  resources  for  emergencies.  He 
will  not  likely  be  found  upon  any  occasion  barren  of  ideas 
and  at  a  loss  for  something  to  say.  He  will  know  a 
hundred  times  more  than  he  will  ever  get  a  chance  to 
say ;  but  his  people  will  be  influenced  not  so  much  by 
what  he  says  as  by  what  he  evidently  knows.  No  man 
ever  has  great  influence  who  exhausts  his  entire  stock  at 
one  session. 

But  the  student  must  be  careful  not  to  husband  ihis 
reserve,  which  is  so  valuable  in  itself,  as  mere  reserve. 
He  must  spend  his  capital  continua^lly  as  if  it  were  in- 
come, for  there  is  no  such  thing  as  "invested  funds"  in 
scholarship  which  are  not  to  be  touched  at  any  time,  but 
sacredly  preserved  for  the  sake  of  that  which  they  may 
yield.  It  is  in  this  respect  that  young  preachers  particu- 
larly frequently  fail.  They  are  often  disposed  to  give 
utterance  to  some  thought  or  illustration  which  they  know 
within  themselves  is  valuable,  but  which  they  imagine 
they  must  withhold  for  a  better  opportunity.  Spurgeon 
has  confessed  that  he  learned  when  he  was  quite  a  young 


144  THE  STUDY 

man  to  give  his  people  at  all  times  the  very  best  that 
there  was  in  him,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
strict  adherence  to  this  principle  had  much  to  do  with 
the  making  of  Spurgeon,  because  the  use  of  intellectual 
capital  does  not  follow  the  same  rules  as  the  use  of  mone- 
tary capital.  If  our  money  capital  be  entirely  spent  we 
are  ruined.  If  our  intellectual  capital  be  entirely  spent 
we  are  enriched.  The  principle  which  is  enunciated  in 
the  Book  of  Proverbs  with  regard  to  gold  and  silver  is 
even  more  true  when  it  is  applied  to  the  preacher's  in- 
fluence: "There  is  that  scattereth,  and  increaseth  yet 
more;  and  there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet, 
but  it  tendeth  only  to  want."  If  the  preacher  acts  upon 
such  injunctions  as  these,  he  will  find  that  his  intellectual 
and  spiritual  capital  is  constantly  upon  the  increase;  his 
reserve  becomes  greater  and  greater,  and  more  and  more 
influential.  His  investments  will  be  constantly  chang- 
ing for  the  better,  and  there  will  be  with  him  no  profes- 
sional "dead-line"  whatsoever. 

V.  One  important  source  of  sermon  material  re- 
mains— Nature.  Though  mentioned  last  it  is  very  far 
from  least.  If  the  writer  could  have  his  way  he  would 
compel  every  minister — especially  those  who  live  in  the 
cities,  to  spend  a  half  day  every  week,  from  April  to  No- 
vember, in  the  woods  and  fields. 

The  busy  minister  has  no  holidays,  except  those  which 
are  taken  in  bulk  at  his  summer  vacation.  Perhaps  he 
calls  Monday  his  rest  day ;  but  this  is  often  spent  in  writ- 
ing up  his  correspondence,  attending  ministers'  meeting, 
sitting  on  committees,  or  what  not ;  and  it  furnishes  him 
no  relaxation  whatsoever.  And  even  when  his  summer 
vacation  comes  he  may  be  so  foolish  as  to  spend  it  at 
«ome  summer  school  or  camp  meeting,  or  in  some  other 
way  that  continues  to  work  his  fagged  brain  and  deplete 


MATERIALS  145 

his  physical  resources.  It  is  a  very  sad  reflection  that 
so  few  know  what  the  gracious  ministry  of  nature  is,  or 
how  to  utilize  it.  They  think  they  need  the  instruction 
and  stimulation  which  is  to  be  obtained  by  attendance 
upon  learned  lectures  and  that  they  can  not  afford  to 
miss  such  opportunities  when  they  are  off  duty  them- 
selves. They  do  not  know  what  instruction  and  stimula- 
tion they  might  receive  in  the  forest  and  on  the  prairie 
and  how  much  more  profitable  it  would  prove  in  view 
of  all  the  circumstances.  They  are  already  stuffed  with 
the  theoretic  and  the  abstract  and  they  should  seek  a  sup- 
ply of  the  concrete  and  the  sentimental. 

It  is  not  simply  for  purposes  of  relaxation  that  the 
minister  should  take  his  half  day  per  week  with  nature, 
No  doubt  he  needs  the  relaxation — he  may  need  it  sadly ; 
and  if  he  gets  nothing  more  the  change  will  be  im- 
mensely profitable.  But  while  he  is  getting  his  relaxa- 
tion he  may  get  something  more.  Mere  relaxation  will 
only  enable  him  to  use  what  sermonic  material  he  has 
with  better  effect;  but  in  addition  to  this  he  may  get 
more  material,  of  another  kind. 

Many  have  no  other  idea  in  this  connection  than  that 
of  exercise.  It  is  by  no  means  a  bad  idea.  They  need 
the  exercise.  They  appreciate  its  importance.  There- 
fore they  play  golf  once  a  week  or  take  a  walk — just  a 
walk,  nothing  more — anything  to  get  exercise.  But  this 
adds  no  material. 

The  minister  therefore  should  regularly  take  his  half 
day — if  he  can — with  some  distinct  intellectual  purpose. 
He  should  pursue  some  subject  entirely  disconnected  with 
his  professional  work.  Let  him  botanize,  or  geologize, 
or  photograph.  Let  him  be  an  amateur  ornithologist  or 
entomologist.  All  the  better  if  he  specializes  somewhat ; 
studies  mushrooms  or  butterflies  or  fossils  or  what  not. 


h6  the  study 

No  harm  if  he  combines  several  of  these.  But  at  all 
events  let  him  turn  his  rambles  to  account.  He  will  get 
all  the  more  fun  out  of  it;  the  relaxation  will  be  more 
complete  and  he  will  get  sermon  material. 

There  are  ministers  who  have  done  this  sort  of  thing 
whose  example  should  have  more  contagion  in  it.  Here 
is  Henry  Van  Dyke  with  his  "Little  Rivers,"  and  H.  C. 
McCook  with  his  "Ant  Communities."  How  very  much 
and  how  very  manifestly  their  preaching  has  been  en- 
riched by  their  "days  off."  And  there  are  others,  not  so 
well-known  to  the  reading  public,  who  have  shown  a 
like  profit  from  like  pursuits. 

It  is  not  simply  that  the  tangible  results  of  the  out- 
door studies  finds  its  way  into  their  sermons,  but  that 
a  certain  breadth  and  freedom  and  freshness  are  com- 
municated to  them.  They  are  ventilated  as  our  bed- 
rooms ought  to  be.  The  mustiness  disappears.  They 
possess  a  new,  delightful  flavor,  they  hint  of  the  deep 
blue,  and  the  stars,  and  the  breeze,  and  the  flowers. 

There  is  no  city  poetry — except  a  few  dreadfully 
melancholy  rhymes  like  the  "Song  of  the  Shirt"  or  the 
"Raven."  The  poetry  that  helps  the  preacher  and  is 
quoted  in  his  sermons  is  born  of  the  woods  or  the  sea, 
or  of  some  of  the  scenes  of  nature.  Jesus  drew  upon  it 
all  the  time.  So  did  prophets  and  apostles.  So  should 
we. 


MINISTERIAL  SENILITY 


MINISTERIAL  SENILITY. 

How  shall  the  sernionic  product  be  kept  fresh? 

The  "dead  line"  in  various  professions. 

Achievments  of  old  men. 
Keeping  the  body  young. 
Keeping  the  mind  young. 

The  society  of  young  people. 

Fresh  books. 

The  habit  of  the  unhabitual. 

"Old  Fogyism." 


Read  Borland's  "Age  of  Mental  Virility:"    Mrs.  Bishop's   "Seventy  Years 
Young." 


X. 

MINISTERIAL  SENILITY. 

We  come  now  to  the  question,  How  shall  sermonic 
materials  be  so  employed  that  the  product  shall  be  in- 
teresting, fresh,  and  up-to-date,  and  so  far  forth  profit- 
able? The  answer  to  this  question  involves  the  consid- 
eration of  a  subject  not  usually  embraced  in  homiletics, 
but  which  ought  not  to  be  neglected.  This  is  the  subject 
of  ministerial  senility.  It  is  commonly  supposed,  by 
those  who  are  accustomed  to  listen  to  preaching,  that 
the  minister  as  he  grows  old  becomes  more  and  more  de- 
ficient in  those  intellectual  and  moral  qualities  which 
render  him  attractive,  and  to  some  extent  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  this  reflection  is  just.  It  is  the  part,  there- 
fore, of  wisdom  not  only  in  the  minister  who  feels  that 
he  is  already  growing  old,  but  also  in  him  who  expects 
to  grow  old  some  day,  to  guard  against  the  incoming  of 
those  things  which  will  render  his  preaching  stale,  dull, 
and  unprofitable.  How  are  we  to  escape  ministerial  senil- 
ity? This  question  we  shall  attempt  to  answer.  The 
dead-line  of  which  we  spoke  in  the  last  chapter  is  usually 
fixed  at  the  ag«  of  fifty  years.  Is  there  any  such  dead- 
line? And  if  there  is,  is  it  a  positive  fixture,  or  does  it 
vary  with  the  physical  and  mental  constitution  of  men? 
One  would  be  disposed  to  answer  this  question  in  the 
affirmative  upon  a  superficial  view  of  the  subject,  because 
it  can  not  be  disputed  that  many  ministers  do  pass  such 
a  dead-line,  as  evidenced  in  the  fact  that  when  they  are 

149 


I50  THE  STUDY 

thrown  out  of  employment  they  find  it  difficult  to  become 
again  settled,  and  even  when  they  are  settled  their  con- 
gregations often  fall  away  from  them.  These  facts  can 
not  be  gainsaid,  and  it  is  not  wise  to  attempt  to  do  so. 
It  is  far  better  to  look  the  facts  in  the  face,  and  instead 
of  disputing  their  existence  rather  to  attempt  to  modify 
the  circumstances  which  render  them  possible. 

It  may  be  said  then  to  begin  with  that,  if  there  is  a 
dead-line  in  the  ministry,  equally  so  there  is  a  dead-line 
in  all  other  professions.  It  may  not  be  located  at  exactly 
the  same  point  alike  in  all  of  them,  but  that  it  generally 
exists  in  all  is  indisputable.  If  there  were  no  other  proof 
of  the  fact,  it  may  be  found  in  the  action  of  the  directors 
of  certain  great  corporations  which  provides  for  the  en- 
forced retirement  of  their  employees  at  a  certain  age, 
the  employees  themselves  having  no  voice  in  the  matter. 
And  if  it  be  true  of  the  professions  it  is  very  much  more 
emphatically  true  in  the  trades  and  mechanical  arts, 
where  the  older  men  are  more  rigorously  ruled  out  than 
they  are  in  the  professions.  Indeed  it  may  safely  be  said 
that  old  ministers  are  as  much  in  demand  as  old  men  in 
other  callings. 

But  there  is  a  deeper  truth  than  this,  and  one  which 
it  were  much  better  for  us  to  consider ;  that  there  is  not 
necessarily  any  dead-line  at  all  in  those  avocations  which 
call  chiefly  for  intellectual  activity  rather  than  physical. 
This  may  be  demonstrated  by  reference  to  many  authori- 
ties who  have  given  the  most  minute  study  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  collated  a  vast  amount  of  testimony  with  regard 
to  it.  Dr.  James  Jackson,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  American  physicians,  and  who  continued  in  his  prac- 
tice until  he  was  nearly  ninety,  declared  that  a  man  at 
sixty-five  years  of  age,  provided  he  was  in  good  health, 
was  at  the  very  prime  of  his  life.     This  did  not  mean 


MINISTERIAL  SENILITY  151 

in  Dr.  Jackson's  opinion  that  a  man  at  sixty-five  was  ca- 
pable of  doing  just  the  same  work  which  a  younger  man 
might  perform.  He  made  use  of  this  aphorism,  "After 
a  man  is  sixty-five  he  should  not  force  himself  to  his 
duty,"  by  which  he  meant  that  neither  the  mind  nor  the 
body  could  endure  the  same  strain  which  might  be  put 
upon  it  at  a  younger  age,  but  that  the  man's  value  to 
society  ordinarily  reached  its  climax  at  that  age.  One 
of  the  finest  pieces  of  work  which  has  ever  been  done  in 
connection  with  this  question  is  that  of  Dr.  W.  A.  New- 
man Dorland  in  his  little  book  upon  the  "Age  of  Mental 
Virility."  He  has  collated  in  the  opening  of  this  book 
the  records  of  four  hundred  men  of  acknowledge  celeb- 
rity in  various  lines  of  intellectual  activity,  and  from 
these  has  drawn  certain  conclusions  which  he  has  sys- 
tematized and  enumerated.  One  of  his  conclusions  is 
this:  that  his  records  give  the  average  age  of  fifty  for 
the  performance  of  the  master-work  of  the  worker.  The 
age  varies  somewhat  with  workers  of  different  classes, 
but  the  record  of  the  clergymen,  whose  names  he  gives, 
puts  their  principle  achievements  at  this  age.  If  such 
be  the  case,  as  shown  by  unquestionable  record,  the  age 
of  fifty  can  not  be  a  dead-line  in  the  ministerial  profes- 
sion. But  the  author  of  this  book  goes  on  to  show  what 
the  world  would  have  lost  had  certain  great  workers  died 
before  the  age  of  seventy.  We  can  not  mention  all  his 
illustrations;  they  occupy  four  pages  of  his  book,  in 
which  the  worker's  name  and  his  celebrated  work  are 
recorded  without  comment.  We  cite  a  few  examples, 
namely:  Spencer's  "Inadequacy  of  Natural  Selection," 
Darwin's  "Power  of  Movement  in  Plants,"  Galileo's  most 
valuable  book  "Dialogue  on  the  New  Science,"  Titian's 
great  painting  of  the  "Last  Judgment,"  Benjamin  West's 
masterpiece  "Christ  Rejected,"  Benjamin  Franklin's  in- 


152  THE  STUDY 

imitable  "Autobiography,"  Disraeli's  "Endymion,"  Mil- 
man's  "History  of  St.  Paul's,"  Tennyson's  "Locksley  Hall 
Sixty  Years  After,"  Washington  Irving's  "Wolfert's 
Roost."  A  great  number  of  other  important  achieve- 
ments might  be  added  to  these — all  by  men  over  seventy. 

But  it  is  not  alone  with  men  who  have  achieved  celeb- 
rity that  the  dead-line  of  fifty  frequently  fails.  It  does 
so  with  many  ministers  whose  reputation  does  not  ex- 
tend beyond  the  small  circle,  and  whose  names  do  not 
appear  in  "Who's  Who."  The  author  has  been  person- 
ally acquainted  with  such,  ministers  who  have  been  called 
to  new  fields  when  they  were  past  sixty,  or  even  past 
seventy. 

There  is  no  reason,  therefore,  for  any  young  man 
hesitating  to  enter  the  ministry  imagining  that  his  period 
of  usefulness  may  be  more  brief  than  in  some  other  pro- 
fession ;  nor  is  there  any  reason  for  a  minister  who  ap- 
proaches the  imaginary  dead-line  to  suppose  that  his  serv- 
ices will  shortly  cease  to  be  in  demand.  The  important 
question  for  both  the  young  and  the  old  to  address  to 
themselves  is  this.  How  may  this  ministerial  senility  be 
escaped? 

In  answering  this  question  we  must  disassociate  it 
in  a  large  measure  at  least  from  things  physical,  by 
which  we  mean  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  the  minister 
to  resort  to  any  artificial  expedients  in  order  to  preserve 
the  appearance  of  youth.  He  will  not  remain  young, 
for  example,  because  he  dyes  his  hair,  or  wears  a  wig, 
or  trims  his  beard  according  to  the  fashion,  or  wears  the 
clothes  that  are  popular  with  the  younger  generation. 
Nevertheless  it  is  of  great  importance  that  the  minister 
give  attention  to  those  things  which  have  to  do  with 
bodily  vigor.  There  is  no  class  of  men  who  so  generally 
neglect  exercise,  for  example,  as  ministers,  and  yet  there 


MINISTERIAL  SENILITY  153 

is  no  other  way  in  which  the  muscles  may  be  kept  sup- 
ple, the  circulation  brisk,  and  the  complexion  clear.  And 
ministers  can  do  many  things  in  other  lines,  affecting 
their  physical  appearance,  commonly  neglected  by  them. 
The  preceding  chapter  in  division  V  bears  upon  this  very 
matter. 

There  are  certain  physical  signs  of  old  age  which,  of 
course,  it  will  be  impossible  for  the  minister  or  anyone 
else  to  escape.  The  eyes  will  begin  to  flatten,  and  the 
arteries  will  begin  to  harden  in  spite  of  all  the  care  that 
the  minister  may  exercise,  but  this  will  not  interfere  with 
the  minister's  preservation  of  his  mental  vision,  and  there 
is  no  reason  why  the  arcus  senilis  of  the  mind  should 
ever  manifest  itself. 

The  body  may  be  kept  young  by  proper  attention  to 
diet,  as  regulated  by  the  advice  of  some  competent  phy- 
sician, by  a  variety  of  occupations,  and  by  the  cultiva- 
tion of  that  versatility  in  which  some  of  us  are  sadly 
lacking.  A  minister  past  seventy  years  of  age  remarked 
to  the  writer  that  one  thing  which  he  very  greatly  de- 
plored, as  he  was  passing  into  old  age,  was  the  fact  that 
he  had  never  cultivated  a  hobby,  and  he  went  on  to 
specify  some  such  things  as  photography,  carpentry,  and 
other  employments  which  would  have  given  him  more 
fresh  air  and  exercise.  Others  have  also  made  the  same 
sad  confession  in  their  declining  years.  They  were  with- 
out resources  ;  those  very  resources  which  would  have  con- 
tributed to  the  health  of  the  body  as  well  as  the  health 
of  the  mind.  There  are  some  familiar  illustrations  of  the 
value  of  this  sort  of  thing  in  men  of  high  station  and 
great  influence,  who  preserve  their  bodily  vigor  in  such 
ways.  Gladstone  is  a  notable  example,  and  his  favorite 
exercise  of  chopping  is  familiar  to  everyone  who  has  ever 
read  of  him. 


154  THE  STUDY 

The  care  of  the  body,  however,  is  by  no  means  so 
important  as  the  care  of  the  mind.  Ministerial  senility 
is  not  a  decrepitude  of  the  muscles  or  of  the  arteries,  but 
of  the  mind  and  heart.  Theodore  Parlcer,  in  his  cele- 
brated sermon  upon  old  age,  made  the  significant  remark 
that  the  "aged  scholar  becomes  an  antiquary."  The 
source  of  the  whole  difficulty  is  revealed  in  this  one  preg- 
nant remark.  It  calls  to  mind  the  well-known  picture  in 
which  an  aged  book-worm  is  represented  as  standing 
upon  the  top  of  a  stepladder,  apparently  oblivious  to 
everything  which  is  transpiring  about  him.  He  has  sev- 
eral books  under  each  arm;  he  has  more  between  his 
knees,  and  others  are  scattered  on  the  steps  of  the  lad- 
der. Meanwhile  he  is  evidently  poring  over  the  pages 
of  one  which  he  holds  in  his  hands.  He  is  an  antiquary : 
he  lives  only  with  his  books:  he  thinks  not  and  cares 
not  for  the  world  beyond.  Dr.  Parker  goes  on  to  say: 
"This  antiquary  does  not  like  young  men  unless  he  knew 
their  grandfathers  before  them.  He  looks  back  upon  the 
fields  he  has  trod  and  looks  in  the  newspaper  only  for 
the  deaths."  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  who  preserved  his 
youthful  spirits  even  to  his  old  age,  is  the  author  of  the 
"words:  "It  is  better  to  be  seventy  years  young,  than 
forty  years  old;"  and  Emily  M.  Bishop,  taking  these 
words  for  her  text,  has  written  an  admirable  book  upon 
the  subject,  "The  Road  to  Seventy  Years  Young."  Oli- 
ver Wendell  Holmes  also  has  given  us  the  following 
beautiful  and  suggestive  verse: 

"At  sixty-two  life  has  begun; 

At  seventy-three  begin  once  more ; 
Fly  swifter  as  thou  near'st  the  sun, 
And  brighter  shine  at  eighty-four. 
At  ninety-five 
Shouldest  thou  arrive. 
Still  wait  on  God,  and  work  and  thrive." 


MINISTERIAL  SENILITY  155 

How  is  this  condition  of  intellectual  youth  to  be  pre- 
served by  the  minister?  Edward  Everett  Hale  went  far 
towards  answering  this  question  in  a  few  words  when 
he  narrated  the  story  of  a  venerable  lady  of  his  own  ac- 
quaintance who  "at  seventy  years  of  age,"  he  says,  "was 
one  of  the  youngest  people  in  the  circle  of  her  friends." 
The  young  people  were  engaged,  upon  a  certain  occa- 
sion, playing  an  amusing  game  called  moral  photography. 
In  this  game  the  participants  are  asked  to  write  promptly 
and  without  deliberation  the  answers  to  twenty  questions 
respecting  their  tastes  and  preferences,  as,  for  example, 
"What  is  your  favorite  flower?"  "Who  is  your  favorite 
poet?"  and  the  like.  Dr.  Hale  says  that  he  gave  this 
question  to  his  venerable  friend  as  he  gave  it  to  the 
younger  ones :  "What  is  your  favorite  amusement  ?"  To 
which  she  replied  immediately,  writing  down  the  words 
upon  the  slip  of  paper  which  had  been  handed  to  her: 
"Hearing  young  people  talk."  The  very  best  way  then 
in  which  to  preserve  the  spirit  of  youth  is  to  cultivate 
the  acquaintance  of  youth,  and  to  be  interested  so  far  as 
possible  in  that  which  interests  youth.  One  reason  why 
many  become  old  is  because  their  friends  fall  away  from 
them  and  they  form  no  new  acquaintances.  This  ren- 
ders them  dreary,  morose,  and  self-contained,  to  the  very 
serious  detriment  of  their  influence.  They  take  up  the 
lamentation  of  Frederick  William  Faber: 

"  Years  fly,  O  Lord !  and  every  year 
More  desolate  I  grow; 
I  "T"       Whe  world  of  friends  thins  round  me  fast, 

r  Love  after  love  lies  low." 

The  result  of  this  breaking  of  earthly  bonds  need 
not  produce  a  desolating  effect  upon  the  mind  of  the 
minister  if  he  is  diligently  engaged  in  making  new  bonds. 


156  THE  STUDY 

He  must  seek  the  society  of  young  people;  he  must  live 
among  them,  and  live  with  them,  and  live  like  them, 
and  live  in  them.  "Live"  we  say,  which  means  some- 
thing more  than  simply  to  be  in  their  company.  It  is  a 
most  significant  fact  in  this  connection  that  many  of  the 
professors  in  our  colleges  and  other  institutions  of  learn- 
ing retain  to  a  most  remarkable  extent  their  fresh  and 
youthful  manners  and  sympathies.  The  reason  is  not 
far  to  seek. 

More  than  this,  it  is  not  simply  that  we  enjoy  the 
association  of  young  people,  but  that  we  cultivate  the 
acquaintance  of  all  sorts  of  young  people,  without  con- 
fining ourselves  to  our  own  denomination,  our  own  race, 
or  our  own  class  in  society.  It  is  that  we  open  our 
mind  to  all  those  incoming  things  which  are  presented 
to  us  by  those  that  are  younger  than  ourselves;  new 
theories,  new  causes,  new  needs,  and  new  methods.  This, 
and  all  which  we  may  include  in  it,  is  comprised  in  what 
we  have  said  with  regard  to  association  with  young  peo- 
ple. Beyond  this  the  youthful  spirit  depends  upon  other 
intellectual  pursuits,  such,  for  example,  as  the  books 
which  the  minister  reads,  the  subjects  which  engage  his 
thought,  and  the  very  diversions  in  which  he  seeks  his 
recreation,  and  the  social  functions  which  he  attends. 
Dr.  Hale  says,  "Take  care  to  keep  up  a  line  of  reading 
or  perhaps  more  than  one  which  will  interest  your  young 
companions.  You  will  find  very  soon  that  you  can  not 
force  them  to  read  your  favorite  books  by  any  expression 
of  your  admiration.  Every  generation  writes  its  own 
books,  and  you  and  I  must  not  struggle  too  hard  against 
this  law."  He  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  books  which  he 
and  his  companions  were  reading  fifty  and  sixty  years 
before,  and  which  were  then  moving  all  the  young  life 
of  the  English  speaking  world.     "But,"  he  says,  "they 


MINISTERIAL  SENILITY  157 

do  not  move  it  now.  Do  not  try  then  to  make  the 
young  people  read  your  books,  but  loyally  and  sympa- 
thetically select  certain  lines  in  which  you  will  read  the 
books  of  to-day  and  keep  more  than  even  with  your 
young  friends." 

The  author  of  "The  Way  to  Keep  Young"  even  makes 
this  suggestion  among  her  fundamental  maxims,  "Learn 
a  language  every  ten  years  if  you  want  to  keep  the 
mind  alert,  bright,  and  ready."  The  writer  has  known 
those  who  adopted  this  suggestion.  He  has  tried  it  him- 
self. The  effect  produced  upon  the  mind  is  a  peculiar 
but  most  exhilarating  one.  The  man  who  is  master  of 
two  languages  is  twice  a  man,  and  the  acquisition  of  a 
modern  language  at  an  advanced  period  in  life  goes  far 
toward  stimulating  those  peculiar  mental  activities  which 
have  to  do  with  keeping  young. 

The  minister  must  vary  his  own  special  work  as  he 
goes  on,  if  he  is  to  avoid  ministerial  senility.  He  must 
destroy  very  many  of  his  old  sermons.  This  does  not 
necessarily  mean  that  he  is  to  commit  them  to  the  flames, 
but  that  he  is  not  to  continue  to  repeat  them  in  the 
same  form  and  with  the  same  emphasis.  If  they  are  to 
be  repeated  by  him  at  all  they  are  to  be  used  only  as  ma- 
terial for  the  production  of  something  which  will  be  as 
pertinent  to-day  as  that  sermon  from  which  it  was  derived 
was  pertinent  at  the  time  of  its  production. 

And  he  is  to  do  all  kinds  of  work,  specially  the  kinds 
of  work  which  he  does  not  like  to  do.  Nothing  so  con- 
tributes to  "old-fogyness"  as  dogged  persistence  in  the 
line  of  one's  personal  tastes.  Give  others  credit  for  their 
preferences,  and  sympathize  with  them.  The  author  of 
"Seventy  Years  Young"  tells  of  a  certain  physician  who 
said,  speaking  of  a  neighbor,  "He  allowed  himself  to 
grow  old.     He  has  not  walked  down  the  hill  and  back 


158  THE  STUDY 

in  three  years.  For  my  own  part  I  have  made  this 
rule  about  such  things,  which  I  commend  to  younger 
men — 'As  soon  as  you  feel  too  old  to  do  a  thing,  do  it.' " 
The  older  one  becomes,  the  more  he  must  accustom  him- 
self to  what  has  been  called  "energetic  volition."  "The 
habit  of  the  unhabitual"  must  be  formed  with  him.  He 
must  keep  up  the  struggle  of  the  mind  to  renovate  its 
ideas  and  improve  its  habits.  Mark  Twain  exclaimed 
upon  his  seventieth  birthday  that  he  had  beaten  the  doctor 
for  seventy  years.  He  said,  "Since  forty  I  have  been 
regular  about  going  to  bed  and  about  getting  up,  and 
that  is  one  of  the  main  things.  I  have  made  it  a  rule 
to  go  to  bed  when  there  was  not  anybody  left  to  sit  up 
with,  and  I  have  made  it  a  rule  to  get  up  when  I  had  to. 
This  has  resulted  in  an  unanswerving  regularity  of  ir- 
regularity." 

Preachers  might  form  to  advantage  some  such  rule. 
The  whole  thing  may  be  summed  up  in  a  single  word. 
To  keep  young,  keep  out  of  ruts;  permit  no  habit  to 
master  you;  let  the  rule  obtain  not  only  with  things 
mental  but  with  things  material  as  well.  Be  not  mastered 
by  a  habit  relating  to  the  food  you  eat,  the  chair  you  sit 
in,  the  bed  on  which  you  lie,  the  hours  which  you  take 
for  sleep,  nor  by  any  such  mater.  Keep  out  of  ruts. 
Of  course,  this  does  not  mean  that  we  are  not  to  subject 
ourselves  to  wholesome  rules  in  all  these  matters,  but 
that  we  are  to  strenuously  avoid  that  monotony  of  taste 
and  conduct  which  runs  unavoidably  into  intellectual 
sterility. 

Modern  psychology  has  taught  us  much  with  regard 
to  this  matter — Prof.  James  says,  "In  all  the  appercep- 
tive operations  of  the  mind  a  certain  general  law  makes 
itself  felt — ^the  law  of  economy.  In  admitting  a  new 
body  of  experience  we  instinctively  seek  to  disturb  as 


MINISTERIAL  SENILITY  159 

little  as  possible  our  prexisting  stock  of  ideas.  We 
always  try  to  name  a  new  experience  in  some  way  which 
will  assimilate  it  to  what  we  already  know.  We  hate 
anything  absolutely  new — anything  without  any  name 
and  for  which  a  new  name  must  be  forced.  So  we  take 
the  nearest  name,  even  though  it  be  inappropriate.  In 
later  life  this  economical  tendency  to  leave  the  old  un- 
disturbed leads  to  what  we  know  as  'old  fogyism.'  A 
new  idea  or  a  fact  which  would  entail  extensive  re- 
arrangement of  the  previous  system  of  beliefs  is  always 
ignored  or  extruded  from  the  mind  in  case  it  can  not 
be  sophistically  reinterpreted  so  as  to  tally  harmoniously 
with  the  system.  We  have  all  conducted  discussions 
with  middle-aged  people,  overpowered  them  with  our  rea- 
sons, forced  them  to  admit  our  contention  and  a  week 
later  found  them  back  as  secure  and  constant  in  their 
old  opinion  as  if  they  had  never  conversed  with  us  at 
all.  We  call  them  old  fogies.  But  there  are  young 
fogies  too.  Old  fogyism  begins  at  a  younger  age  than 
we  think.  I  am  almost  afraid  to  say  so,  but  I  believe 
that  in  a  majority  of  human  beings  it  begins  at  about 
twenty-five." 

On  the  margin  of  the  book  which  the  writer  consulted 
in  the  Carnegie  Library,  some  reader  had  written  op- 
posite this  statement,  in  terms  as  emphatic  as  they  were 
indecent  "That  is  a  lie!"  The  writer,  however,  believes 
it  to  be  solid  truth.  He  has  seen  old  fogies  in  the  seats 
of  his  very  students.  Some  of  them,  too,  men  who  criti- 
cised their  professors  for  their  antiquated  views!  In 
some  the  law  of  psychological  economy  is  imperative 
before  they  begin  to  preach.  So  far  from  passing  a 
''dead  line"  they  never  seem  to  get  over  the  life  line. 

It  is  true  that  they  continue  to  enlarge  the  field  of 
intellectual  vision;  they  add  to  their  information;  they 


xflo  THE  STUDY 

accumulate  ideas.  But  all  they  acquire  is  disposed  in 
the  mind  according  to  unchangeable  categories.  They 
do  not  formulate  any  new  law  of  thought,  they  make 
use  of  no  new  principles.  In  this  work  of  homiletics 
they  may  learn  much  of  the  formal  instruction  and  be 
able  to  recite  upon  it  with  ease.  But  they  learn  little  or 
no  homiletics  for  all  that.  They  never  will  be  fresh 
or  interesting  preachers.  They  will  not  meet  the  con- 
ditions of  the  age.  Worst  of  all  they  will  never  be  able 
to  get  a  hold  upon  the  young  life  which  is  the  very  hope 
of  the  Church. 

But,  on  the  other  hand  there  are  some  who  never 
grow  old.  One  who  knew  Andrew  Carnegie  intimately 
well  remarked  that  one  reason  of  his  great  financial  suc- 
cess was  the  fact  that  he  would  never  consent  to  retain 
a  piece  of  machinery  in  his  mills  when  there  was  some- 
thing else  introduced  into  the  market  that  would  do  the 
work  better.  The  cost  of  the  change  was  a  minor  con- 
sideration— the  product  was  everything.  This  indicates 
a  certain  quality  of  mind  in  the  great  iron-master  which 
is  shown  in  many  ways.  He  keeps  close  to  youth.  He 
gives  millions  for  their  education.  He  is  still  youthful 
in  manner  and  spirit  and  the  young  love  him. 

Yes;  and  the  young  do  not  shun  the  old  because  of 
their  years.  This  has  been  disproved  in  many  instances. 
To  be  sure  the  illustrations  are  rare ;  but  there  are  enough 
of  them  to  establish  the  principle.  There  are  a  few  old 
men  and  old  women  in  every  good-sized  community 
whom  the  young  admire  and  whose  companionship  they 
enjoy.  When  the  writer  was  a  college  boy  there  was 
a  man  in  his  native  city  whose  society  he  sought  on  his 
visits  home  more  frequently  than  that  of  any  one  else; 
and  he  was  just  fifty  years  his  senior ! 

May  not  ministers  learn  the  lesson? 


ORIGINALITY 


ORIGINALITY 

The  preacher  must  be  interesting. 

I.  What  is  Originality? 

The  Absolute  and  the  Relative. 

II.  Obstacles. 

1.  Too  much  independence. 

2.  Too  little  independence. 

III.  Forms  of  Unworthy  Originality. 

1.  Parade  of  Orthodoxy  or  Heterodoxy. 
"Great  Sermons." 

2.  Affectation. 

IV.  How  Originality  may  be  Cultivated. 
A  hard  lesson  to  learn. 

1.  Be  Scriptural. 

2.  Preach  the  distinctive  truth. 

3.  Use  helpful  literature. 
Dangers  of  mere  scholarship. 

4.  Study  men,  life,  occasions,  etc. 
Sensationalism. 


Read  Garvie's  "Guide  to  Preachers,"  Part  III;  9.  Quayle'fi  "Pastor-Preacher,' 
p.  124  seq.;  Broadus,  Part  I,  Chap.  V. 


XI. 

ORIGINALITY. 

We  recur  again  to  the  question  with  which  we  in- 
troduced the  proceeding  chapter,  How  shall  the  preacher's 
materials  be  so  employed  that  the  product  shall  be  in- 
teresting and  up-to-date?  This  question  has  not  always 
received  the  attention  which  it  deserves.  The  followers 
of  the  old  homiletics  were  disposed  to  make  light  of  it, 
and  some  even  dismissed  it  as  almost  sacrilegious.  With 
all  such  the  question  of  interest  had,  at  the  best,  a  very 
small  place.  Was  the  subject  important?  Did  it  deserve 
attention?  Were  the  hearers  under  a  solemn  obligation 
to  listen?  Such  were  the  forms  in  which  their  medita- 
tions were  usually  cast.  And  even  to-day  there  are  those 
whose  question  is  cast  in  a  form  which  has  become  al- 
most a  vulgarism,  "Is  the  subject  worth  while?" 

But  we  are  bound  to  remember  that  there  are  many 
subjects  of  great  importance  to  which  men  would  do 
well  to  listen,  many  subjects  which  are  "worth  while," 
whose  discussion  may  be  altogether  dreary  and  stale. 
But  in  this  age  of  the  world  people  are  not  inclined  to 
listen  to  such  discussions.  There  are  a  vast  multitude 
of  people  who  are  inclined  to  religion,  and  who  are  ac- 
customed to  attend  divine  worship,  who  will  not  go  to 
church  to  be  bored.  Very  often  the  most  devoted  Chris- 
tians are  found  among  this  very  class,  and  their  motive 
is  not  an  unworthy  one.  They  desire  to  be  instructed 
and  refreshed,  and  they  feel  no  compunctions  of  con- 

163 


i64  THE  STUDY 

science  in  forsaking  a  preacher  who  does  not  command 
their  attention  and  awaken  their  activities,  for  one  by 
whom  they  may  be  taught  and  stimulated.  We  may  set 
it  down  as  one  of  the  homiletical  maxims  of  the  present 
age  that  where  one  ceases  to  interest,  he  ceases  to  profit. 
Dr.  Garvie,  whose  book  entitled  "A  Guide  to  Preachers," 
from  which  we  have  already  quoted,  was  written  not 
for  the  ordained  ministry,  but  as  he  himself  tells  us  in 
his  preface  for  lay  preachers,  devotes  a  whole  chapter 
to  the  consideration  of  this  subject.  Perhaps  it  is  just 
because  his  lectures  were  given  before  a  class  of  lay- 
men. But  it  is  impossible  to  see  how  one  who  is  to 
preach  without  ordination  should  devote  himself  to  the 
interest  of  his  congregation,  while  those  who  have  been 
solemnly  set  apart  to  the  sacred  office  may  aflford  to 
dispense  with  it.  Dr.  Garvie  gives  some  extended  advice 
with  regard  to  the  way  in  which  the  art  of  interesting 
a  congregation  may  be  cultivated.  The  points  which 
he  makes  are  as  follows : 

(i)  He  should  throw  his  material  into  such  a  shape 
that  it  will  be  easily  remembered; 

(2)  He  must  stimulate  the  imagination; 

(3)  He  should  convey  sympathy; 

(4)  He  should  take  up  such  topics  as  move  himself 
deeply. 

He  says,  "In  preparation  the  preacher  ought  always  to 
consider  whether  what  he  intends  to  preach  will  set  his 
own  soul  aglow  or  leave  himself  cold.  For  it  is  quite 
certain  that  the  preacher  will  not  move  others  unless 
he  is  himself  moved.  The  complaint  about  dull  sermons 
is  often  really  a  charge  of  coldness  in  the  preacher." 

Bishop  Quayle  should  also  be  noted  in  this  connection 
as  illustrating  the  trend  of  the  New  Homiletics.  In  his 
book  upon  "The  Pastor-Preacher"  he  also  has  a  chapter 


ORIGINALITY  165 

devoted  to  this  matter  entitled  "The  Sin  of  Being  Un- 
interesting." He  says,  "The  sin  of  being  uninteresting  in 
a  preacher  is  an  exceedingly  mortal  sin.  It  has  no  for- 
giveness." This  language  is  too  strong,  but  it  indicates 
the  trend  of  thought  at  the  present  time.  The  chapter 
to  which  we  have  referred  contains  a  number  of  epi- 
grams in  which  the  truth  is  expressed  in  a  very  happy 
and  forcible  way.  "We  are  not  men  of  apathy.  We  are 
men  vigilant  in  intent,  who  have  the  sky  upon  our 
shoulders  and  the  round  world  in  our  hearts."  "The 
preacher  must  never  drowse.  His  purpose  is  the  changing 
of  the  atoms  of  the  soul  so  that  it  swings  in  a  new  circle. 
Eternity  is  his  tutor."  "A  sermon  should  be  a  fire,  not 
simply  a  smoke."  "Nobody  has  to  come  to  preaching. 
Students  have  to  come  to  class  so  as  to  get  grades,  but 
the  class-room  method  will  not  win  a  hearing."  He  has 
also  the  following  very  fine  illustration.  "It  is  not  meet 
that  such  as  dwell  in  lightnings  work  in  the  dark  like 
blind  moles,  and  they  do  not.  When  the  dynamo  inveigles 
lightning  from  the  sky  those  workers  have  the  light- 
ning's torch  to  oil  the  machinery  by.  Even  so  the 
preacher  who  has  themes  flaming  bright  beyond  the  light- 
nings must  not  walk  by  twilights.  He  must  be  fascinat- 
ing in  his  recitation  of  facts  which  angels  desire  to  look 
into." 

W^ith  all  this  we  most  heartily  agree,  but  the  question 
is.  How  may  one  become  interesting  without  resorting 
to  methods  which  are  meretricious  and  undignified?  and 
which  are  incongruous  with  a  solemn  presentation  of 
the  truth  of  God?  The  difficulty  which  an  honest 
preacher  finds  in  attempting  to  interest  an  audience  re- 
sides in  his  inability  to  direct  his  course  between  the 
pretentious  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  common-place  upon 
the  other;  and  very  many  preachers  in  their  attempt  to 


166  THE  STUDY 

do  what  they  feel  that  they  should  do  in  this  regard 
have  either  run  into  a  vulgar  sensationalism  or  fallen 
into  the  prosaic  and  platitudinous. 

The  question  which  is  involved  in  this  whole  matter 
is  that  of  originality.  It  is  only  as  the  preacher  succeeds 
in  presenting  truth  in  fresh  form,  and  with  timely  ap- 
plication, that  he  engages  the  interest  of  those  to  whom 
he  speaks.  When  he  is  successful  in  doing  this  he  is 
pronounced  an  original  thinker,  and  so  indeed  he  may 
be,  but  some  other  preacher,  (and  young  men  are  more 
apt  to  be  led  into  the  temptation  than  older  ones,)  look- 
ing upon  his  success  and  endeavoring  to  repeat  it  in  his 
own  experience,  seeks  to  be  original  by  methods  which 
he  can  scarcely  countenance  himself,  and  which  thought- 
ful people  disapprove. 

I.  What  then  is  originality?  That  is  to  say,  What 
is  that  particular  form  of  originality  which  is  suited  to 
the  pulpit,  and  which  engages  the  interest  of  a  congrega- 
tion? It  has  been  well  said  by  others  that  we  must  dis- 
tinguish between  that  originality  which  is  absolute  and 
that  which  is  relative.  There  is  so  little  of  the  former 
that  we  might  almost  say  that  there  is  none  at  all. 
Broadus  deals  at  some  length  with  the  distinction  be- 
tween these  two  terms.  He  quotes  the  Edinburg  Review, 
"The  ancients  have  stolen  all  our  best  ideas ;"  and  Goethe, 
"Very  little  of  me  would  be  left  if  I  could  but  say  what 
I  owe  to  my  predecessors  and  my  contemporaries ;"  and 
remarks  that  Confucius  five  centuries  before  the  Christian 
era  proclaimed  himself  only  a  student  of  antiquity. 
Nevertheless  there  is  still  left  some  room  for  absolute 
originality.  Occasionally  an  idea  is  expressed  or  a  theory 
propounded  which  is  entirely  new  to  the  thinking  world. 
Only  it  never  comes  by  seeking  it,  and  the  preacher  who 
supposes  that  this  sort  of  originality  can  be  cultivated 


ORIGINALITY  167 

will  end  in  intellectual  excesses  and  aberrations,  because 
of  which  he  may  be  relegated  to  the  rank  of  cranks,  if 
not  of  lunatics.  The  originality  which  is  absolute  is 
always,  in  the  best  sense  of  that  term,  a  blunder.  The 
men  who  are  gifted  with  it  are  more  surprised  by  its 
incoming  than  any  one  else.  It  is  like  the  discovery  of 
America.  As  one  has  said,  Columbus  found  it  "because 
he  could  not  get  by  it,"  and  we  must  remember  that  the 
discovery  occurred  because  Columbus  was  not  seeking 
a  new  world  but  an  old  one :  he  found  America  in  search- 
ing for  India. 

So  also  it  has  been  with  many  great  inventions,  as 
well  as  with  many  great  discoveries :  they  have  surprised 
their  own  authors. 

But  in  order  to  such  inventions  one  must  not  be  given 
to  sleep.  His  mind  must  be  alert  and  active :  he  must 
be  busily  engaged  with  the  nature  and  uses  of  old  truth 
or  he  certainly  will  never  discover  the  new. 

And  it  should  also  be  remembered  that  while  there 
is  little  that  is  absolutely  original,  and  while  that  little 
never  comes  to  one  who  has  given  himself  to  the  search 
for  it,  yet  there  is  much  which  is  absolutely  original  to 
the  apprehension  and  the  aspiration  of  many  of  the 
minister's  parishioners,  and  it  will  not  be  amiss  for  him 
to  seek  for  those  principles  and  truths  which  will  bring 
to  his  people  thoughts  which  they  have  never  framed, 
desires  which  they  have  never  cherished,  and  services 
for  Christ  of  which  they  had  never  dreamed. 

The  relative  originality,  however,  is  that  to  which 
the  preacher  should  devote  his  particular  attention,  if 
he  is  to  be  interesting  and  fresh.  This  relative  originality 
is  that  which,  while  it  is  not  new  in  itself,  is  new  in 
its  relations  and  applications.  The  old  truths  bear  to  it 
the  same  relation  that  the  old  germs  bear  to  what  are 


i68  THE  STUDY 

called  "seedling"  products.  There  have  been  pears  and 
apples  in  the  world  since  the  world  began,  and  when 
their  seeds  are  planted  there  is  nothing  more  than  pears 
and  apples  reproduced.  But  among  the  many  reproduc- 
tions which  may  follow  the  planting  there  will  be  found 
a  few  varieties  of  superior  value,  and  in  some  respects 
very  different  from  all  which  have  preceeded  them.  No 
new  fruit  is  produced,  but  that  which  is  produced  has 
all  the  value  of  new  fruit.  How  very  remarkably  this 
is  illustrated  in  the  age  in  which  we  live,  particularly 
in  the  work  of  Burbank,  the  great  horticultural  wizard. 
About  twenty  five  years  ago  a  farmer  in  North  Carolina 
discovered  among  his  tobacco  plants  one  with  a  much 
lighter  leaf  than  the  rest,  and  possessing  other  peculiar 
qualities.  He  gave  it  great  care  and  perpetuated  its 
product.  The  result  was  a  new  kind  of  tobacco  much 
more  valuable  than  any  other.  It  was  still  tobacco,  but 
it  had  much  of  the  advantage  of  a  new  creation. 

Now  when  we  come  to  apply  this  to  the  preacher's 
work  we  remark  that  the  basis  of  preaching  certainly 
is  not  original.  As  we  have  already  seen,  his  theme  is 
given  to  him:  from  this  fundamental  principle  the 
preacher  must  never  depart.  He  should  not  attempt  to 
discover  any  new  subjects  of  thought  in  the  line  of  re- 
ligious truth.  He  can  not  be  original  in  this  respect  even 
if  he  would  be,  and  yet  this  same  basis  of  preaching 
becomes  original  in  effect,  with  the  preacher's  experience 
and  observation.  The  truths  with  which  he  deals  are 
as  old  as  the  race,  but  as  the  race  is  renewed  generation 
by  generation,  with  its  changing  customs,  its  changing 
environment,  and  its  changing  conditions,  the  old  truth 
is  invested  with  new  meaning  and  is  put  to  new  uses. 
Prof.  James  says,  "It  is  an  odd  circumstance  that  neither 
the  old  nor  the  new  by  itself  is  interesting.     The  abso- 


ORIGINALITY  169 

lutely  old  is  insipid;  the  absolutely  new  makes  no  ap- 
peal at  all.  The  old  in  the  new  is  what  claims  the  at- 
tention. No  one  wants  to  hear  a  lecture  on  a  subject 
completely  disconnected  with  his  previous  knowledge; 
but  we  all  like  lectures  on  subjects  of  which  we  know 
a  little  already."  The  preaching  of  the  old  truth,  there- 
fore, issues  in  new  interpretations,  new  combinations, 
new  illustrations,  and  new  applications,  and  that  preacher 
who  becomes  the  most  expert  relative  to  these  things 
will  so  far  forth  be  regarded  as  the  most  original  thinker, 
and  will  prove  the  most  interesting  speaker.  These  things, 
therefore,  the  preacher  should  constantly  cultivate,  for 
it  is  in  these  things  that  his  sermons  will  be  found  to 
possess  their  present-day  value.  The  old  truths  are  like 
old  coins  which  have  been  reminted.  Not  a  particle  of 
the  gold  is  lost,  nor  does  it  in  any  respect  change  its 
character,  but  it  is  cast  in  a  new  form,  it  is  stamped 
with  a  new  design,  it  bears  a  fresh  inscription;  and  on 
this  account — not  because  it  is  a  new  metal,  but  because 
it  is  a  new  issue,  it  may  properly  bear  the  initial  of  the 
mint  from  which  it  is  sent.  The  preacher  may  say  "It 
is  mine." 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  old  truth  actually  becomes 
the  preacher's  own.  It  is  his  very  truth  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  he  may  not  cherish  a  paternal  pride  in  it; 
and  likewise  because  it  has  become  his  own  he  secures 
for  it  the  interest  of  those  to  whom  it  is  presented. 

II.  Such  being,  as  we  understand  it,  the  nature  of 
originality,  we  pass  to  consider  some  of  the  common 
obstacles  to  its  acquisition.  We  need  but  mention  to 
begin  with  those  erroneous  views  concerning  its  char- 
acter to  which  we  have  already  referred.  There  are 
others  in  addition  to  these. 

I.  The  disposition  upon  the  part  of  the  preacher  to 


X70  THE  STUDY 

depend  too  largely  upon  his  own  self.  One  may  be  an 
original  thinker,  but  there  is  nothing  which  will  so 
quickly  destroy  his  originality  as  for  him  to  be  made  in 
any  way  aware  of  the  fact.  Self-consciousness  is  more 
destructive  of  originality  perhaps  than  any  other  one 
thing.  It  is  said  that  even  Wellington  lost  power  and 
influence  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  It  was  for  this 
very  reason. 

And  there  are  some  who,  because  they  speak  readily, 
finding  no  difficulty  in  filling  up  the  time  with  such 
thoughts  as  they  have,  and  with  thoughts  which  appear 
to  them  to  be  somewhat  out  of  the  ordinary,  believe  they 
are  sufficient  of  themselves.  But  the  soil  of  the  mind 
is  very  much  like  the  soil  of  the  fields.  It  will  certainly 
be  exhausted  in  time  except  it  be  frequently  fertilized. 
More  than  that,  nothing  is  more  exhausting  to  the  soil 
than  the  constant  production  of  the  same  crop.  Every 
farmer  knows  that  rotation  is  the  rule  of  fertility,  but 
with  the  preacher  who  depends  largely  upon  his  own 
resources,  there  is  neither  fertilization  nor  rotation.  His 
intellectual  soil  will  be  sure  to  run  out.  He  must  not 
only  give  himself  to  such  study  as  he  may  derive  from 
intercourse  with  his  fellow  men,  and  from  books  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  as  we  have  already  noted;  but  he  must  be 
particularly  alert  to  the  reception  of  suggestions  of  new 
and  strange  truth.  One  mind  often  acts  upon  another 
mind  as  a  charge  of  electricity  passing  over  one  wire 
acts  upon  another  which  is  parallel  to  it.  A  current  is 
induced  in  the  second  conductor  of  equal  power  with 
that  which  is  shown  in  the  first. 

One  reason  why  many  preachers  who  would  be  orig- 
inal are  not  so,  is  found  in  simple  indolence.  Men  fail 
in  the  pulpit  sometimes  for  the  same  reason  that  they 
fail  in  other  walks  of  life.    The  plain  truth  is  that  they 


ORIGINALITY  171 

are  too  lazy;  they  are  not  willing  to  work  for  results. 
They  have  not  the  patience  to  investigate,  and  reason, 
and  study.  They  imagine  that  genius  is  a  spontaneous 
product,  and  that  its  accomplishments  are  not  the  result 
of  conscious  effort.  They  ought  to  know  the  truth  with 
regard  to  this  matter,  that  the  vast  majority  of  those 
whom  the  world  has  pronounced  geniuses  were  men  of 
indefatigable  toil.  The  illustrations  are  too  numerous 
and  too  familiar  to  require  any  citation. 

2.  The  second  obstacle  to  the  cultivation  of  original- 
ity is  found  at  the  very  extreme  from  that  at  which  the 
first  is  found.  There  is  not  sufficient  dependence  upon 
one's  self.  As  there  are  in  commercial  life  what  are 
called  the  "get-rich-quick"  plans,  so  there  is  in  the  in- 
tellectual life  what  may  be  called  the  "get-wise-quick" 
plan,  and  the  preacher  sometimes  falls  before  the  tempta- 
tion. There  are  very  few  who  are  guilty  of  using  other 
men's  sermons,  although  even  this  is  sometimes  done  in 
countries  other  than  our  own ;  but  while  the  preacher 
may  hesitate  to  do  quite  so  much  as  this,  he  is  some- 
times not  averse  to  using  another's  plan,  or  following  the 
exact  outline  of  a  sermon  which  he  has  heard  or  read. 
He  resorts  for  example  to  what  are  known  as  homilet- 
ical  commentaries,  and  searches  diligently  for  such  sub- 
jects and  divisions  of  subjects  as  may  suit  his  purpose. 
If  he  does  not  go  so  far  as  this,  he  will  at  least  not  hesi- 
tate to  employ  the  very  argument  which  another  has  pre-  ^ 
sented,  or  the  very  illustration  which  another  has  used. 

Everything  of  this  sort  is  absolutely  destructive  of 
the  preacher's  originality.  It  has  the  same  effect  upon 
the  mind  which  so-called  prepared  foods  have  upon  the 
stomach:  it  unfits  it  in  the  course  of  time  to  receive  and 
assimilate  any  strong  or  wholesome  mental  pabulum. 
We  have  already  indicated  what  one  is  to  do  with  other 


172  THE  STUDY 

men's  sermons,  and  with  literature  of  a  like  kind.  They 
are  to  be  studied  and  analyzed,  the  hiding  of  the  preach- 
er's power  is  to  be  discovered,  and  more  particularly  in 
this  connection  the  secret  of  his  fresh  and  original  utter- 
ances. But  the  thing  itself  is  never  to  be  employed  at 
second-hand. 

III.  What  are  some  of  the  unworthy  forms  of  at- 
tempted originality?  There  are  a  number  of  them,  the 
most  conspicuous  of  which  we  may  mention. 

I.  The  parade  of  one's  devotion  to  a  certain  kind  of 
doctrine:  it  makes  comparatively  little  difference  what 
kind  of  doctrine  it  may  be.  It  may  be  heterodoxy;  it 
may  be  orthodoxy.  There  are  some  who  seem  to  imag- 
ine that  they  will  appear  the  more  original  in  departing 
from  the  faith,  but  there  are  others  with  an  almost  equal 
self-deception  who  appear  to  think  that  they  will  be  the 
more  original  by  keeping  to  the  old  faith  in  the  old  form. 
But  originality  is  not  exhibited  in  the  studied  parade 
of  any  form  of  faith.  It  is  absolutely  inconsistent  with 
dishonesty  of  any  kind.  If  one  is  tempted  to  become 
heterodox  that  his  utterances  may  be  the  more  fresh,  he 
will  only  make  his  attempts  the  more  laughable.  But 
the  same  may  happen  in  the  other  case.  The  parade  of 
scholarship,  the  use  of  unusual  terms,  particularly  tech- 
nical terms,  the  reference  to  abstruse  subjects  and  un- 
familiar objects,  to  which  the  preacher  is  sometimes  in- 
clined with  the  mistaken  idea  that  it  will  make  capital 
for  him,  should  be  expressly  avoided  by  him  who  would 
be  strictly  up-to-date.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  said  with 
regard  to  this  matter,  in  his  Yale  Lectures:  "There  is 
one  temptation  concerning  which  I  must  be  allowed  to 
give  you  a  special  and  earnest  caution.  It  is  on  the  sub- 
ject of  'great'  sermons.  The  themes  you  will  handle  are 
often  of  transcendent  greatness.     There  will  be  times 


ORIGINALITY  173 

continually  recurring  in  which  you  will  feel  earnestly 
the  need  of  great  power,  but  the  ambition  of  construct- 
ing great  sermons  is  guilty  and  foolish  in  no  ordinary 
degree.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  man  ever  made  a  great 
sermon  who  set  out  to  do  that  thing.  Sermons  that  are 
truly  great  come  of  themselves :  they  spring  from  sources 
deeper  than  vanity  or  ambition.  Perhaps  I  should  have 
said  'show'  sermons  rather  than  'great'  sermons,  sermons 
adapted  to  create  surprise,  admiration,  and  praise ;  ser- 
mons as  full  of  curiosities  as  a  pedlar's  pack.  Such  dis- 
courses are  relied  upon  to  give  men  their  reputation.  To 
construct  such  sermons  men  oftentimes  labor  night  and 
day,  and  gather  into  them  all  the  scraps,  ingenuities,  and 
glittering  illustrations  of  a  lifetime.  They  are  the  pride 
and  the  joy  of  the  preacher's  heart,  but  they  bear  the 
same  relation  to  a  truly  great  sermon  as  a  kaleidoscope 
full  of  glittering  beads  of  glass  bears  to  the  telescope 
which  unveils  the  glory  of  the  stellar  universe.  These 
are  Nebuchadnezzar  sermons  over  which  the  vain 
preacher  stands  saying,  'Is  not  this  great  Babylon  which 
I  have  built  for  the  royal  dwelling-place,  by  the  might  of 
my  power  and  for  the  glory  of  my  majesty,'  Would  to 
God  that  these  preachers,  like  Nebuchadnezzar,  might  go 
to  grass  for  a  time,  if  like  him  they  would  return  sane 
and  humble."  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  gives  the  same  caution. 
He  says:  "Preachers  should  be  afraid  of  great  sermons: 
their  congregations  are.  The  minister  may  perhaps 
preach  one  occasionally  by  accident,  but  it  always  ought 
to  be  an  accident." 

2.  The  second  unworthy  form  of  attempted  original- 
ity is  affectation.  The  preacher  seems  to  imagine  that 
to  be  odd  is  to  be  original.  Therefore,  he  does  not  dress 
like  other  men;  he  cultivates  a  peculiar  delivery;  or  his 
affectation  may  be  in  his  pulpit  manners.    He  gives  him- 


174  THE  STUDY 

self  to  paradox,  epigram,  sententious  sayings  of  various 
kinds,  for  which  there  is  a  continual  and  very  apparent 
strife.  Little  more  needs  to  be  said  upon  this  matter  ex- 
cept to  remember  the  words  of  Phillips  Brooks  that  "it 
would  be  very  easy  to  be  a  John  the  Baptist  if  it  resided 
in  nothing  more  than  a  garment  of  camel's  hair  and  a 
diet  of  locusts  and  wild  honey." 

IV.  We  come  now  to  a  most  important  question, 
How  shall  originality  be  cultivated  ?  Prior  to  this,  how- 
ever, there  is  another  question  which  may  need  an  an- 
swer, Can  originality  really  be  cultivated  at  all?  To 
this  latter  question  we  reply  with  an  emphatic  affirma- 
tive; it  certainly  can  be  cultivated.  Herein  is  a  para- 
dox— originality  to  be  cultivated !  Strange  indeed  that 
such  matters  as  naturalness  and  simplicity  must  be  ac- 
quired; but  so  it  is.  Why  is  not  one  original  without 
effort  and  without  practice?  Simply  because  we  are 
ruled  by  conventional  customs.  It  is  not  only  the  bane 
of  the  pulpit,  but  of  many  other  aspects  of  thought  and 
work.  The  old  proverb  has  it  that  we  "cannot  teach  an 
old  dog  new  tricks."  But  in  a  certain  sense  we  are  all 
"old  dogs,"  in  that  we  inherit  the  principles  and  prac- 
tices of  our  predecessors.  We  follow  example.  As 
James  and  John  would  have  called  down  fire  from  heaven 
upon  the  inhospitable  Samaritans  because  Elijah  did,  so 
we,  also.  But  Jesus  taught  them  that  even  the  example 
of  a  prophet  is  not  always  a  proper  precedent,  and  dis- 
played His  own  divine  originality  in  taking  another 
course. 

It  is  this  slavish  adherence  to  precedent  which  stands 
in  the  way  of  our  originality.  The  child  becomes  formal 
and  stilted  before  he  has  reached  his  "teens."  He  has 
already  learned  to  wear  a  mask  to  conceal  his  true  self 
and  to  hide  his  own  impressions.    So  we  have  to  learn  the 


ORIGINALITY  175 

hard  lesson  of  a  return  to  the  normal.  Yes,  it  is  indeed 
hard !  It  is  the  more  hard  sometimes  because  when  one 
attempts  to  be  himself  the  very  attempt  renders  him  most 
unlike  himself.  It  is  like  sitting  for  a  portrait;  the  ex- 
pression of  the  countenance  is  not  that  to  which  friends 
are  accustomed.  Yet  one  should  strive  to  be  himself  in 
all  honesty.  As  before  the  eye  of  the  All-seeing  God,  the 
preacher  may  continually  say  to  himself,  "Let  me  pre- 
serve my  intellectual  and  spiritual  integrity ;  let  me  say 
what  I  really  believe ;  let  me  not  tie  my  conscience  to 
any  one's  dictum ;"  and  God  will  help  such  an  honest  soul. 

Let  the  preacher  remember  that  even  if  he  is  not  him- 
self he  can  not  be  anyone  else,  nor  can  he  successfully 
adopt  the  methods  of  anyone  else.  Chancellor  Day  re- 
marks :  "Every  man  has  a  right  to  be  original.  He  will 
be  if  he  is  himself.  In  a  sleigh  factory  one  day  I  saw 
a  shaft-bending  machine.  A  row  of  ash  sticks  were 
placed  in  it  after  having  been  steamed,  and  the  power 
was  applied,  and  they  all  bent  over  beautifully  alike.  But 
I  thought  that  if  some  had  been  white  wood,  some  pine, 
and  some  birch,  it  would  not  have  been  so.  The  machine 
would  have  broken  some  of  the  sticks,  and  some  of  the 
sticks  would  have  broken  the  machine.  It  is  not  best  to 
put  one's  self  into  the  common  mold." 

If  one  really  succeeds  in  being  himself,  as  we  believe 
any  man  may,  he  will  certainly  be  original,  and  this  just 
because  no  man  is  like  any  other  man  in  all  respects. 
And  probably  after  all  has  been  said  with  regard  to  the 
matter,  and  we  review  all  our  considerations  with  regard 
to  it,  we  shall  find  that  the  great  hindrance  to  originality 
is  simply  this,  that  one  tries  to  be  something  or  some- 
body else  than  that  which  God  intened  him  to  be.  If  it 
were  only  possible  for  us  to  throw  off  the  clamps  that 
bind  our  intellectual  processes,  and  let  our  minds  work 


176  THE  STUDY 

willingly  and  freely,  we  should  be  very  much  more  useful 
to  the  world  in  which  we  live. 

The  fact  is  that  everyone  is  original  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent. The  old  lady  stated  the  exact  truth  when  she  said 
that  either  everybody  was  peculiar  or  nobody  was  peculiar. 
We  are  all  peculiar  in  certain  ways,  and  in  the  proper 
government  of  our  very  peculiarities  we  find  our  largest 
field  for  action  and  our  greatest  p'ower  for  good. 

How  then  shall  we  learn  to  be  fresh  and  original? 

I.  No  better  rule  can  be  given  to  begin  with,  for  the 
preacher  who  would  be  fresh  and  original,  than  that  he 
should  be  Scriptural — truly  Scriptural,  breathing  its  at- 
mosphere, emitting  its  fragrance,  and  thereby  conveying 
to  others  its  deeper  spirit. 

The  reason  why  the  Bible  ministers  to  originality  is 
this — that  it  sets  forth  the  absolute  form  of  thought  and 
conduct.  There  is  nothing  fictitious  or  factitious  in  it. 
It  lays  bare  the  unchanging  heart  of  man.  Its  careful 
student  therefore  learns  to  know  himself  and  to  be  him- 
self; and  learning  this,  he  learns  to  teach  others  the  fun- 
damental and  the  normal. 

Old  as  the  Bible  is,  it  still  remains  the  very  freshest 
book  that  is  ever  placed  upon  our  shelves,  and  a  most 
significant  thing  with  regard  to  its  study  is  this,  that 
those  very  ministers  who  are  the  best  exponents  of  the 
New  Homiletics  insist  the  most  emphatically  upon  Scrip- 
tural preaching. 

There  are  some  who  suppose  that  in  order  to  be  fresh, 
even  when  they  preach  from  Scriptural  texts,  they  must 
depart  from  their  plain  teaching  and  introduce  material 
derived  from  what  they  regard  as  advanced  thought. 
Certainly  this  is  the  very  best  way  in  which  not  to  be 
fresh  and  original.  If  any  one  is  in  doubt  with  regard 
to  it,  let  him  consult  the  sermons  of  those  who  preach 


ORIGINALITY  177 

to  the  largest  audiences  or  have  the  largest  following. 
Let  him  consider  the  work  of  the  great  modern  evangel- 
ists and  others,  who  stir  the  heart  of  the  people,  and 
conduct  the  great  agencies  for  the  good  of  mankind. 
D.  L.  Moody  was  an  unlettered  man,  and  had  very  few 
scholarly  sources  from  which  to  draw,  and  yet  no 
preacher  for  several  generations  has  displayed  a  finer 
originality  than  he.  Consult  his  "Notes  from  My  Bible." 
In  preparing  this  chapter,  the  book  was  opened  at  ran- 
dom, as  it  has  often  been  before,  without  any  attempt 
to  find  particular  illustrations  of  our  position.  The  place 
found  was  page  136,  containing  his  notes  upon  certain 
verses  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  chapters  of  the  Gospel  by 
John.  The  text  is  so  familiar  that  we  need  not  refer  to 
the  particular  verses.  The  following  are  some  of  his 
notes.  Speaking  of  the  woman  of  Samaria,  he  says : 
"Twice  on  earth  our  Lord  asked  a  favor,  and  twice  was 
he  refused.  Here,  when  He  asked  for  a  drink,  and 
on  the  cross,  when  He  asked  for  water  and  they  gave 
Him  vinegar."  Speaking  of  the  well  of  water  he  says: 
"God  does  not  want  a  dam  but  a  canal  to  carry  the  gos- 
pel. Dam  up  a  spring  and  you  get  a  frog-pond."  And 
again:  "Water  rises  to  its  level,  and  the  water  of  life 
that  comes  from  the  throne  of  God  will  carry  one  into 
the  presence  of  God."  Concerning  the  Savior's  remark 
to  His  disciples  with  regard  to  the  fields  white  to  the 
harvest,  he  says:  "Any  farm-laborer  is  called  to  reap, 
but  it  takes  a  skillful  man  to  sow."  Again:  "John  the 
Baptist  was  a  burning  and  shining  light.  To  burn  it  not 
enough ;  a  fire-brand  does  that.  To  shine  is  not  enough ; 
a  glow-worm  does  that."  These  are  illustrations  from 
a  single  page  of  those  very  fresh  remarks  with  which 
the  sermons  of  Mr.  Moody  abound.  Spurgeon  might 
also  be  quoted  to  show  how  exceedingly  fruitful  Scrip- 


178  THE  STUDY 

tural  preaching  is  in  the  cultivation  of  originality.  His 
"Feathers  for  Arrows"  have  suggested  the  way  to  use 
the  Scripture  by  illustration  and  application  to  very  many 
teachable  ministers. 

Brastow  says,  in  his  "Modern  Pulpit:"  "There  is  a 
demand  for  preaching  that  is  more  distinctly  textual  and 
expository,  or  at  least  that  avails  itself  more  freely  of 
Biblical  material."  He  has  certainly  read  correctly  the 
signs  of  the  times.  S.  Edward  Young,  who  was  accus- 
tomed to  preach  to  large  congregations  in  the  theatres 
and  in  the  public  parks  of  Pittsburg,  remarked  to  the 
writer  that  after  he  had  begun  to  expound  the  Scripture 
to  these  people  they  were  not  content  with  any  other 
kind  of  preaching.  Brastow  continues:  "A  pulpit  use 
of  the  Bible  commensurate  with  the  popular  interest  in 
it,  with  our  better  knowledge  of  it,  with  our  more  con- 
crete illustrative  method  of  preaching,  and  with  men's 
religious  needs,  is  in  process  of  development.  This  use 
of  the  Bible  will  make  the  work  of  preaching  more  sug- 
gestive, more  living,  more  real  and  cogent." 

We  can  scarcely  estimate  how  the  dominant  note  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  it  is  set  forth  in  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  is  being  sounded  in  every  department  of 
thought  and  work  to-day,  and  therefore  we  can  scarcely 
estimate  the  importance  of  the  preacher  emitting  the  call 
of  the  day  by  the  clear  and  true  sounding  of  this  Biblical 
note.  The  age  in  which  we  live  has  come  to  possess  an 
intense  realization  of  the  claim  which  human  life  has 
upon  it.  Art,  science,  and  philosophy  are  being  driven 
resistlessly  towards  reality.  All  are  calling  for  that  which 
is  vital  and  for  that  which  is  eternal,  and  from  no  source 
can  the  preacher  derive  his  adaptation  to  this  dominant 
factor  in  the  life  of  to-day  more  than  from  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures.    When  he  attempts  to  do  this  he  finds  him- 


ORIGINALITY  179 

self  becoming  adapted  to  the  most  characteristic  phases 
of  modern  life;  he  actually  acquires  a  new  and  better 
dialect  in  which  to  state  the  old  but  ever  living  truth. 
His  mind  becomes  alert ;  his  intellect  is  reawakened ;  he 
meets  the  end  of  the  age  in  which  he  lives. 

2.  When  the  preacher  endeavors  to  work  in  the  spirit 
which  has  been  thus  indicated,  and  proceeds  to  discuss 
a  particular  passage  of  Scripture,  he  will  minister  to  his 
originality  in  the  attempt  to  find  its  distinctive  truth.  We 
mean  by  this,  the  truth  which  is  contained  in  this  passage 
that  is  not  contained  in  other  passages,  though  they  may 
deal  with  the  same  general  subject.  Do  not  preach  a  ser- 
mon upon  any  text  that  might  just  as  well  be  preached 
on  a  dozen  others.  No  two  passages  of  Scripture  con- 
vey exactly  the  same  lesson,  or  minister  to  exactly  the 
same  grace,  except  those  which  are  positive  repetitions. 
Take,  for  example,  two  of  the  miracles,  or  two  of  the 
parables  of  the  Savior,  which  to  the  superficial  reader 
seem  so  much  alike  as  to  convey  exactly  the  same  truth. 
A  closer  examination  will  reveal  the  fact  that  the  one 
has  something  in  it  which  the  other  lacks.  Let  us  recur 
again,  for  example,  to  the  miracle  of  the  miraculous 
draught  of  fishes  in  Luke  5,  and  what  might  seem  to  be 
the  repetition  of  the  miracle  in  John  21.  Let  the  preacher 
ask  himself,  Why  did  the  Savior  perform  two  such  mir- 
acles, apparently  so  very  much  alike?  Let  him  proceed 
to  lay  the  one  down  beside  the  other,  and  note  the  re- 
spects wherein  they  differ.  Let  him  ask  himself  if  he 
finds  anything  in  the  one  which  was  adapted  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  disciples'  training,  and  anything  in  the 
other  which  was  adapted  to  the  close  of  that  training, 
and  their  entrance  upon  their  apostolic  work.  Let  him 
note  what  might  at  first  seem  mere  incidentals,  the  fact 
that  in  the  first  miracle  the  nets  were  breaking,  but  not 


x8o  THE  STUDY 

so  in  the  second.  Let  him  compare  the  effect  upon 
Peter's  mind  in  the  first  miracle  with  the  effect  upon  the 
minds  of  all  the  disciples,  including  Peter,  in  connection 
with  the  second.  Then  let  him  ask  himself  whether  he 
can  preach  the  same  sermon  upon  both  miracles.  The 
two  passages  of  Scripture  are  no  more  alike  than  two 
gravel  beds  may  be,  in  one  of  which  gold  may  be  found, 
and  in  the  other  of  which  it  is  absent. 

The  preacher  should  not  begin  to  write  until  he  has 
found  this  truth — the  distinctive  truth  of  the  passage. 
Oftentimes  it  furnishes  the  very  largest  element  in  a  dis- 
course which  is  truly  fresh  and  inspiring. 

3.  The  preacher  need  not  imagine  that  in  order  to  be 
fresh  and  original  he  must  derive  all  his  comments  upon 
the  passage  in  hand  from  his  own  rumination  upon  the 
subject.  Neither  must  he  imagine  that  he  can  import 
into  his  sermon  the  fresh  and  original  comments  which 
others  have  made  upon  it.  But  this  he  may  do,  he  may 
read  any  literature  connected  with  the  subject  with  which 
he  is  engaged,  containing  thought  parallel  to  that  which 
he  derives  from  the  passage,  and  read  it  in  order  to  the 
stimulation  of  his  own  mind.  This  is  what  Broadus  calls 
"water  in  a  dry  pump."  Many  times  it  will  avail  to  draw 
forth  that  which  is  sweet  and  refreshing.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  of  the  use  of  poetry. 

The  product  of  this  literature,  therefore,  is  to  be  care- 
fully considered  and  thoroughly  assimilated  before  it  is 
employed  by  the  preacher.  He  makes  use  of  none  of  it 
thereafter  in  the  very  form  in  which  it  is  conveyed  to 
him,  but  he  has  fed  upon  it,  digested  it,  and  derived 
strength  therefrom.  The  exertion  that  follows  is  his 
own.  The  sermon  product  that  is  begotten  of  such  work 
is  original,  but  the  preacher  must  be  careful  that  he  is 
not  led  by  another  in  any  way. 


ORIGINALITY  i8x 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  there  are  certain  dangers  to 
originality  in  scholarship.  If  a  man  has  not  become 
enough  of  a  scholar  to  engage  in  original  research,  and 
has  gone  no  further  than  compilation,  never  reaching  the 
stage  of  assimilation  and  appropriation,  his  originality 
will  be  very  seriously  impaired. 

If  the  preacher  is  to  be  fresh  and  original  he  must 
shun  this  sort  of  thing.  It  is  not  that  he  is  not  to  be  a 
reader  and  a  student,  but  that  he  must  not  suffer  himself 
to  become  pedantic.  He  should  present  to  his  people 
from  the  pulpit  only  that  which  is  fully  and  truly  his 
own. 

4.  Let  the  preacher  apply  all  his  labor  and  study 
to  the  actual  thought  and  life  of  men.  If  he  is 
to  be  fresh  he  must  reach  that  thought  and  that  life 
as  they  really  are,  and  as  they  are  manifested  in  the 
rank  and  file  of  those  that  are  about  him.  He  must  very 
seldom  if  ever  preach  to  exceptional  people.  He  must 
very  seldom  deal  with  exceptional  sins  or  unusual  sor- 
rows. Th-e  subjects  with  which  he  is  to  be  engaged  are 
to  be  those  with  which  his  own  people  are  engaged 
every  day  in  the  week,  if  not  indeed  every  hour  in  the 
day.  The  Scripture  which  he  has  studied,  the  distinctive 
truths  which  he  has  found,  the  books  which  he  has  read, 
the  observation  he  has  had,  are  all  to  be  material  from 
which  he  may  derive  that  which  shall  refresh  and  edify 
the  souls  to  whom  he  ministers  as  they  go  about  their 
daily  work,  and  are  burdened  with  their  daily  cares,  and 
lead  them  in  the  way  of  salvation.  One  of  the  best 
things  that  Vinet  ever  said  in  discussing  homiletics  is 
this:  "The  basis  of  eloquence  is  the  commonplace."  It 
deserves  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold.  It  is  worth 
being  burned  into  the  minds  and  consciences  of  every  one 
who  ministers  in  the  name  of  Christ.    Originality  is  not 


182  THE  STUDY 

to  be  found  in  the  heights  above  or  in  the  depths  be- 
neath, but  right  on  this  common  level  whereon  we  and 
the  people  about  us  move.  McKay  Smith,  in  a  brilliant 
article  upon  this  subject,  says  that  what  the  people  need 
is  "not  simple  remarks  upon  profound  subjects,  but  pro- 
found remarks  upon  simple  subjects."  The  import  of 
his  words  may  not  be  at  once  apparent.  What  he  means 
is  this,  that  many  ministers  think  that  their  reputations 
will  be  enhanced  and  their  originality  will  be  displayed 
in  discussing  some  very  abstruse  theme,  which  they  are 
really  incompetent  to  handle;  but  they  seem  to  imagine 
that  because  the  theme  is  so  profound  they  will  be  re- 
garded as  profound  themselves.  The  fact  is  they  do 
neither  themselves  nor  their  people  any  good.  What  the 
people  wish  is  instruction  concerning  the  simple  matters 
of  life,  and  they  wish  these  subjects  discussed,  not  in 
words  which  they  can  not  understand,  nor  in  reference 
to  principles  which  they  have  not  mastered,  but  in  lan- 
guage which  nevertheless  goes  down  to  the  very  roots 
of  things  and  conveys  the  undermost  and  final  truth  upon 
the  subject. 

In  order  that  we  may  have  this  eloquence  of  the  com- 
monplace, and  make  these  profound  remarks  upon  sim- 
ple subjects,  we  must  study  not  only  the  people  that  are 
about  us,  but  we  must  study  occasions.  Every  day  will 
furnish  us  with  something  new ;  every  week  will  bring 
us  opportunity  for  timely  utterances.  We  must  study  the 
age  in  which  we  live.  We  must  not  only  be  in  it,  but  we 
must  be  of  it.  We  must  know  its  current  thought  and 
its  characteristic  life ;  its  particular  dangers ;  its  special 
promises,  and  all  other  things  found  in  this  age  which 
have  not  been  found  in  the  ages  which  preceded,  at  least 
in  the  form  in  which  they  now  appear. 

This  does  not  mean  that  we  are  to  commit  the  folly 


ORIGINALITY  183 

of  composing  whole  sermons  whose  themes  shall  be  de- 
rived from  the  occasion;  it  does  not  mean  that  we  are 
to  indulge  in  wholesale  criticism  of  the  age ;  or  that  we 
attempt  to  furnish  a  universal  panacea  for  its  ills.  But 
the  occasion  and  the  age  should  be  taken  into  account 
in  every  sermon  that  is  delivered,  and  there  may  be  fre- 
quent reference  to  the  incidental  things  as  the  best  taste 
and  the  most  need  will  suggest. 

And  the  preacher  is  to  study  himself.  This  study  of 
himself  will  take  with  him  a  peculiar  form:  he  will  not 
use  anything  in  the  pulpit,  by  way  of  argument  or  illus- 
tration, that  would  not  appeal  to  himself  if  it  were  pre- 
sented by  another  preacher.  Likewise  he  will  not  at- 
tempt to  inflict  upon  the  people  that  which  he  would 
consider  stale  and  unprofitable  if  it  were  inflicted  upon 
himself.  In  this  sense  he  is  to  study  himself,  for  he  is 
not  very  unlike  the  people  to  whom  he  ministers. 

V.  A  word  may  be  said  in  concluding  this  subject 
concerning  sensational  preaching.  It  may  be  well  to  de- 
line  it  to  begin  with,  because  there  is  much  preaching 
which  is  called  sensational  by  those  who  are  humdrum 
and  conventional  in  their  methods,  without  any  good  rea- 
son. Many  a  preacher  who  makes  an  honest  attempt  to 
be  fresh  is  regarded  with  some  suspicion  by  certain  of 
his  fellows,  and  does  not  receive  fair  treatment  at  their 
hands.  It  is  far  better,  at  all  events,  that  a  preacher 
should  run  to  sensation  than  to  stagnation. 

And  yet  that  which  is  really  sensational  should  be 
condemned.  What  is  sensationalism?  Wherein  does  it 
differ  from  freshness  and  originality?  The  answer  may 
be  given  in  a  word :  sensationalism  exalts  the  incidentals, 
while  the  proper  originality  exalts  the  essentials.  Two 
ministers  in  the  same  city,  occupying  pulpits  in  churches 
on  opposite  corners  of  the  street,  were  preaching  during 


184  THE  STUDY 

the  same  winter  courses  of  sermons  which  were  illus- 
trated by  charts  and  pictures.  They  were  both  minister- 
ing to  large  and  attentive  audiences,  but  during  the  win- 
ter a  certain  family  left  the  one  Church  displeased  with 
the  exercises,  and  connected  themselves  with  the  other. 
When  asked  why  this  was  so,  by  one  who  was  anxious 
to  discover  the  essential  difference  in  the  method  of  the 
two  men,  the  head  of  the  family  replied :  "The  one  uses 
his  sermon  for  the  sake  of  his  pictures:  the  other  uses 
his  pictures  for  the  sake  of  the  sermon."  The  discrim- 
ination was  just;  it  explains  the  whole  matter.  Bishop 
Quayle  remarks,  speaking  upon  this  subject:  "Only 
weak  men  are  sensational.  The  preacher  who  knows  the 
art  of  preaching  will  never  need  to  be  sensational;  he 
will  be  inspirational."  And  Brastow  says:  "Sensational 
preaching  is  a  concession  to  vulgarity  that  is  intolerable." 
Oftentimes  the  preacher  who  has  been  given  to  sensa- 
tional methods  abandons  them.  One  such  has  said:  "I 
turned  my  pulpit  into  a  lecture  platform  for  the  discus- 
sion of  religious  themes  from  a  scientific  view-point,  but 
I  have  decided  I  will  stop  this.  It  does  not  pay ;  it  brings 
in  the  end  no  permanent  results.  I  can  not  see  where 
any  lasting  good  has  come  to  my  Master  from  such  a 
course."  Another  has  said:  "If  I  preach  popular  ser- 
mons at  night,  along  lines  literary  and  historic,  I  pack 
my  house  to  the  doors,  but  when  I  begin  to  preach  gos- 
pel sermons  the  crowds  melt  away,  and  the  more  gospel 
I  get  into  the  sermon  the  less  of  crowds  I  have  left ;  but 
I  have  resolved  what  to  do,  to  quit  all  this."  With  re- 
gard to  this  last  preacher,  we  should  remark  that  un- 
doubtedly the  reason  why  the  crowds  melted  away  under 
his  honest  endeavor  to  preach  the  gospel  was  because  he 
had  been  preaching  popular  sermons  so  long  that  he  had 
forgotten  how  to  preach  the  gospel  attractively.    A  cer- 


ORIGINALITY  185 

tain  daily  paper,  in  one  of  its  leading  editorials,  re- 
marked: "Popular  preaching  has  been  tried  without 
success.  Pulpit  orations  seem  somehow  to  lose  their 
charm,  and  it  no  longer  pays  to  cater  to  the  secular  tastes 
of  the  multitude.  It  is  very  generally  the  case  that  the 
preachers  who  lay  the  gospel  on  the  shelf,  and  undertake 
to  enlist  interest  by  theatrical  methods,  achieve  a  tem- 
porary success,  but  find  in  the  long  run  that  they  are  on 
the  wrong  track.  The  crowds  attracted  at  first  by  spec- 
tacular inducements  soon  fall  away,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  sternly  orthodox  element,  which  is  the  backbone  of 
Church  membership,  is  apt  to  be  alienated  and  to  seek 
elsewhere  opportunities  for  worshipping  In  the  old  fash- 
ion, plain  and  unadorned." 

How  then  may  one  who  earnestly  desires  to  be  fresh 
and  original  safeguard  himself  against  sensationalism? 
The  answer  is  in  three  parts : 

1.  Let  him  cultivate  good  taste.  This  will  largely 
depend  upon  the  community  in  which  he  lives,  and  the 
character  of  the  congregation  to  which  he  ministers.  If 
he  is  in  doubt  about  his  own  judgment  in  the  matter,  let 
him  take  advice  and  seek  counsel. 

2.  Let  him  be  thoroughly  Scriptural  in  his  preaching, 
and  let  it  be  the  whole  design  of  his  preaching  to  set 
forth  the  message  of  the  Word  of  God.  It  was  just  here 
that  Moody  and  Spurgeon  saved  themselves  from  the 
charge  of  sensationalism.  Their  methods  often  aroused 
enthusiasm,  and  sometimes  provoked  laughter,  but  they 
were  not  charged  with  sensationalism. 

3.  Let  him  earnestly  desire  to  save  and  help  others. 
Let  him  not  think  of  his  own  reputation  and  his  own 
glory,  but  of  the  good  of  his  fellow  men  and  the  glory 
of  his  Master.  Let  it  be  his  earnest  prayer  "Lord  help 
me  to  preach  the  saving  word  to  those  to  whom  I  min- 
ister, and  thus  to  glorify  thy  great  and  gracious  name." 


INSTRUCTION. 


INSTRUCTION. 

Instruction  the  first  element  of  sermonizing. 
Neglected  in  the  past  generation. 
Necessity  of  its  revival. 

I.  What  shall  the  preacher  teach? 

1.  Fundamental  truth. 

2.  Doctrine. 

3.  Ordinances. 

4.  Christian  activities. 

5.  Christian  morality. 

6.  Source  of  comfort. 

II.  How  shall  instruction  be  given? 

1.  Not  in  offensive  particulars. 
Example  of  the  prophets,  John,  Jesus. 

2.  By  the  exposition  of  Scripture. 


Read  Faunce's  "  The  Educational  Ideal  In  the  Ministry  ; "  Forsyth's  "  Pos- 
tive  Preaching  and  the  Modern  Mind;"  Jefferson's  "Minister  as 
Prophet,"  Chap.  V. 


XII. 
INSTRUCTION. 

The  first  element  of  sermonizing  is  Instruction.  There 
is  absolutely  nothing  which  takes  precedence  of  it.  The 
preacher  should  be  a  teacher  before  all  things  else.  The 
sermon  from  which  the  hearer  learns  nothing  is  a  failure. 
The  apostles  were  sent  forth  by  the  Savior  to  teach  as 
well  as  to  preach,  and  Jesus  Himself  was  emphatically 
a  teacher.  He  was  so  regarded  by  His  contemporaries, 
and  has  been  so  regarded  ever  since.  All  the  great  lead- 
ers of  religious  thought  from  the  beginning  have  ex- 
celled in  the  teaching  function,  and  it  is  highly  important 
that  the  teaching  faculty  should  be  developed  by  every 
one  who  attempts  to  proclaim  the  gospel. 

The  past  generation  did  not  attach  the  proper  value 
to  the  educational  feature  of  preaching,  and  it  fell  very 
largely  into  disuse.  Altogether  too  much  emphasis  was 
placed  upon  the  fact  that  the  preacher  is  called  a  "herald" 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  it  was  commonly  supposed 
that  exhortation  should  be  the  chief  feature  in  pulpit  ut- 
terances. This  lack  of  instruction  was  defended  with 
some  show  of  justice  upon  the  consideration  that  reli- 
gious education  was  largely  conveyed  through  other 
channels  than  the  pulpit,  notably  by  means  of  the  Sun- 
day school,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and 
other  similar  agencies.  It  was  held  that  people  who  were 
accustomed  to  attend  Church  were  already  indoctrinated 
and  familiarized  with  the  characters  and  facts  of  the 

189 


I90  THE  STUDY 

Scripture.  The  result  was  a  notable  decline  in  church 
attendance  and  in  pulpit  power ;  but  there  was  no  attempt 
to  correct  it.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  in  his  first  series 
of  Yale  Lectures,  delivered  in  the  winter  of  1871-2,  em- 
phatically belittled  the  teaching  element  in  sermonizing. 
He  said :  "A  preacher  is  a  teacher,  but  he  is  more.  The 
teacher  brings  before  men  a  given  view  or  a  department 
of  truth.  He  expands  his  force  upon  facts  or  ideas.  But 
the  preacher  assumes  or  approves  facts  and  truths  as  a 
vehicle  through  which  he  may  bring  his  spirit  to  bear 
upon  men.  A  preacher  looks  upon  truth  from  the  con- 
structive point  of  view.  It  is  not  enough  that  men  shall 
know;  they  must  be."  This  quotation  indicates  Mr. 
Beecher's  idea  of  the  scope  of  preaching,  and  he  pursues 
it  through  a  number  of  paragraphs.  The  preacher,  he 
declared,  is  an  artist,  a  master-builder,  a  reproduction  of 
the  truth  in  personal  form,  but  not  in  any  distinctive 
sense  a  teacher.  Ten  years  later,  in  1881,  Professor 
Phelps,  of  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  published 
his  lectures  on  preaching.  It  is  apparent  to  one  who 
reads  the  book  that  there  is  promise  of  a  turn  in  the  tide, 
but  it  has  not  really  turned  as  yet.  Professor  Phelps, 
however,  notes  the  defect  in  sermonizing  occasioned  by 
the  omission  of  the  teaching  element,  and  says:  "We 
need  to  reinstate  the  Biblical  instruction  of  our  churches 
and  of  our  youth  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  hands  of  pas- 
tors. This,  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  vital  point  to  be  car- 
ried. The  fatal  evil  is  that  preaching  should  be  isolated 
from  the  work  of  Scriptural  teaching."  And  again: 
"One  of  the  most  vital  changes  which  our  present  system 
of  Christian  work  needs  is  to  reinstate  in  the  pulpit  the 
work  of  Biblical  teaching  and  restore  the  leadership  in 
it  to  the  pulpit.  I  say  'restore'  because  the  pulpit  once 
had  that  leadership,  for  it  had  the  whole  of  the  work. 


INSTRUCTION  <fi 

It  is  no  innovation  to  devise  methods  for  setting  the  pul- 
pit again  at  the  head  of  all  expedients  and  of  all  train- 
ing for  the  Scriptural  education  of  the  people."  Profes- 
sor Phelps  gives,  in  the  same  connection,  a  chapter  from 
his  own  experience  in  which  he  was  led  to  modify  his 
pulpit  methods,  and  instead  of  searching  for  unique  texts, 
to  make  use  of  the  results  of  his  Scriptural  studies  in 
his  pulpit.  This  course  of  Biblical  sermons  which  he 
prepared,  and  which  ran  through  four  months  during 
his  experiment  with  the  system,  was  renewed  after  a 
time  and  continued  for  six  years.  He  says  with  regard 
to  the  experience :  "My  success  was  not  brilliant,  but  I 
am  confident  that  my  Biblical  course  saved  my  pulpit." 
At  the  present  time,  however,  there  is  a  very  decided 
attempt  to  restore  to  the  pulpit  that  element  which  Pro- 
fessor Phelps  discovered  that  it  lacked.  President  Mc- 
Clure,  of  McCormick  Seminary,  delivered  an  address 
before  the  Presbyterian  Social  Union  of  Pittsburg,  in  the 
fall  of  1910,  on  the  subject:  "A  Teaching  Church  the 
Need  of  the  Age."  His  ideas  seemed  to  strike  many 
who  heard  him  with  all  the  force  of  novelty;  but  they 
were  most  significant  as  proceeding  from  such  a  source. 
One  of  the  exponents  of  the  New  Homiletics  is  found 
in  the  Yale  Lectures  for  1908  by  President  Faunce 
of  Brown  University.  It  will  be  observed  that  these 
lectures  were  delivered  thirty-seven  years  after  those  of 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  to  which  we  have  referred.  This 
course  of  lectures  is  entirely  occupied  with  the  teaching 
function  of  the  pulpit,  the  subject  being  "The  Educa- 
tional Ideal  in  the  Ministry."  The  title  to  the  first  chap- 
ter is  "The  Place  of  the  Minister  in  Modern  Life."  It 
gives  the  cue  for  all  the  chapters  that  are  to  follow,  and 
under  the  title  are  two  quotations,  the  first  from  the 
prophecy  of  Daniel  12:3,  and  the  other  from  Luther's 


r99  THE  STUDY 

"Table  Talk."  "The  teachers  (marg.)  shall  shine  as  the 
•brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to 
righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever."  "The  good 
preacher  should  have  these  properties  and  virtues,  first 
to  teach  systematically."  It  is  hard  to  select  from  such 
a  book,  so  full  of  suggestion  upon  this  subject,  but  the 
following  may  serve  as  illustrations  of  the  good  things 
which  it  contains:  "Every  civilized  community  is  to-day 
throbbing  with  educational  activity.  The  impulse  to  gain 
new  knowledge  and  apply  that  knowledge  to  life  is  clearly 
the  dominant  impulse  of  our  time.  The  whole  world  is 
going  to  school.  Instruction  has  gotten  far  outside  the 
school-house  and  the  college.  Public  libraries  have 
sprung  up  in  every  village.  The  university  extension 
has  spread  out  its  tendrils  until  a  single  university  now 
enrolls  three  thousand  students  in  extension  courses. 
Public  lectures  are  usually  no  longer  of  the  old  lyceum 
order,  heterogeneous  and  aimless,  but  are  definite  courses 
of  lectures  by  experts  in  some  one  field  of  knowledge. 
Correspondence  schools  have  multiplied  until  a  single 
school  now  enrolls  350,000  pupils.  A  new  reading  public 
has  been  developed.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  people 
are  eagerly  scanning  the  papers  and  frequenting  libraries. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  parents  are  making  heroic  sac- 
rifices to  give  their  children  the  best  possible  mental 
training,"  and  much  more  of  the  same  nature.  After 
considering  all  this  he  proceeds  to  discuss  our  great  na- 
tional peril,  which  he  says  is  this,  "that  the  supremely 
important  task  of  our  generation  will  fall  between  the 
Church  and  State  and  be  ignored  by  both."  This  im- 
portant task  is  religious  training.  To  this,  therefore,  he 
argues  that  the  pulpit  must  devote  itself.  He  declares 
that  no  strong  or  enduring  people  ever  yet  existed  with- 
out definite  and  continuous  work  in  religious  education, 


INSTRUCTION  193 

and  that  "without  it  the  nation  is  palsied  at  its  very 
heart." 

The  writer  has  been  devoted  to  these  principles  ever 
since  he  became  a  teacher  of  Practical  Theology,  and 
one  of  his  homiletical  maxims  from  the  start  has  been 
cast  in  the  form  of  the  opening  sentence  of  this  chapter, 
"The  first  element  of  sermonizing  is  Instruction." 

There  are  two  questions,  then,  to  be  answered  in  this 
connection,  first.  What  shall  the  preacher  teach?  and 
second.  How  shall  he  teach  it?  We  proceed  to  consider 
them. 

I.  What  shall  the  preacher  teach?  We  might  an- 
swer in  general  terms,  everything  that  has  to  do  with 
the  spiritual  good  of  his  people,  but  this  answer  is  both 
too  broad  and  too  indefinite. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  things  which  some  peo- 
ple in  this  age  seem  to  think  the  preacher  ought  to  teach 
for  which  he  has  no  call  whatsoever,  and  it  is  very  im- 
portant that  he  should  safeguard  himself  at  this  point. 
A  vast  variety  of  schemes  and  projects  are  anxious  to 
get  into  the  pulpit  and  obtain  the  prestige  of  the  preach- 
er's position  and  influence.  Sometimes  the  preacher  is 
very  seriously  tempted  to  turn  aside  from  his  proper 
calling  to  discuss  such  matters,  and  some  occasionally  do 
so,  but  it  is  generally  done  with  a  loss  of  capacity  to  un- 
dertake those  specifically  spiritual  duties  which  devolve 
upon  the  holy  calling. 

The  preacher  is  not  to  teach  those  things  upon  which 
adequate  instruction  is  provided  In  other  ways.  The 
Church  was  not  instituted  to  teach  farming,  finance,  or 
athletics.  Men  are  not  trained  for  its  ministry  that  they 
may  enlighten  their  fellows  upon  art,  science,  philosophy, 
commerce,  political  economy,  and  many  other  subjects. 
The  preacher  must  stick  to  the  spiritual.    When  his  ad- 


1^  THE  STUDY 

rice  is  sought  upon  any  subject  in  public  or  private,  in 
the  pulpit  or  out  of  it,  it  will  be  better  for  him  to  con- 
fine himself  to  those  aspects  of  the  question  which  touch 
man's  relation  to  God.  When  this  is  not  done,  and  either 
the  Church  or  the  preacher  departs  from  its  proper  teach- 
ing function,  a  certain  secularization  of  sacred  things  is 
accomplished  which  reacts  upon  the  Church  in  its  higher 
and  holier  ministries. 

While  it  is  impossible  to  specify  all  the  subjects  upon 
which  the  minister  should  give  instruction  to  his  people, 
and  while  one  preacher  may  not  find  it  necessary  to  dis- 
course upon  the  same  subjects  which  another  may  be 
called  to  discuss,  it  may  be  well  to  indicate  some  of  the 
more  important. 

I.  The  first  subject  is  fundamental  truth.  We  mean 
by  this  term  that  truth  has  to  do  with  the  salvation  of 
the  soul.  It  may  well  be  doubted  if  the  majority  of 
those  who  attend  Church  in  the  present  age  have  any 
clear  notions  with  regard  to  this.  But  even  though  the 
older  portion  of  the  congregation  may  have  intelligent 
ideas  with  regard  to  it,  there  is  a  succession  of  hearers 
attendant  upon  our  ministry,  and  a  succession  of  gener- 
ations growing  up  in  the  Church  who  need  to  be  en- 
lightened with  regard  to  the  principles  of  the  doctrine 
of  Christ  year  by  year.  In  this  respect  the  pulpit  stands 
in  the  same  relation  to  such  as  the  secular  school,  and  it 
would  be  just  as  foolish  for  the  pulpit  to  dispense  with 
primary  instruction  as  for  the  school  to  do  so.  Nor  can 
this  work  be  relegated  to  the  Sunday  school,  or  even  to 
the  home.  Whatever  may  be  done  in  this  regard  in  such 
quarters  it  does  not  relieve  the  preacher  from  his  solemn 
responsibility. 

This  teaching  of  fundamental  truth  includes  instruc- 
tion with  regard  to  the  nature,  guilt,  and  conseq-uences 


INSTRUCTION  195 

of  sin,  and  with  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  justification 
which  is  in  Christ,  and  of  the  way  in  which  it  may  be 
imputed  to  the  penitent  and  believing  soul. 

A  number  of  years  ago  a  certain  young  minister  in- 
quired of  his  companion,  who  like  himself  had  just  been 
settled  in  his  first  charge:  "Have  you  ever  thought  of 
selecting  from  the  Scripture  the  very  simplest  gospel  text 
which  you  could  find,  and  of  preparing  upon  it  the  sim- 
plest possible  sermon  which  you  could  prepare,  showing 
the  way  of  salvation  in  as  plain  terms  as  possible,  such 
as  even  a  child  could  comprehend?"  Neither  of  them 
had  done  so,  but  they  agreed  to  do  it.  It  is  not  known 
what  became  of  the  sermon  of  the  first,  but  that  of  the 
second  was  repeated  many  times  through  a  number  of 
years.  It  was  always  received  with  much  interest,  and 
was  never  delivered  without  conversions  following  it. 
Out  of  that  sermon  a  simple  tract  was  prepared  in  the 
same  sort  of  language  and  for  the  same  purpose.  It  was 
entitled  "More  Light."  It  was  privately  published  at 
the  first  for  use  only  in  the  preacher's  congregation.  It 
was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  American  Tract  Society ; 
it  was  published  by  them  in  a  variety  of  editions;  it  was 
subsequently  translated  into  many  languages  and  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  copies  have  gone  over  the  world. 
Many  have  been  converted  by  the  reading  of  the  tract 
who  never  knew  its  author.  These  influences  for  good 
were  the  product  of  instruction  of  the  simplest  kind  in 
fundamental  truth.  The  preacher  who  devotes  himself 
to  this  sort  of  work  will  be  amply  repaid. 

Qosely  connected  with  this  is  instruction  with  regard 
to  the  nature  of  the  change  which  takes  place  in  one 
when  he  believes  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  change 
is  known  as  regeneration,  or  the  new  birth.  It  is  not 
only  a  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  but  it  finds  a  place 


196  THE  STUDY 

in  modern  psychology;  for  while  this  science  is  much 
devoted  to  those  laws  of  intellectual  growth  whereby  ac- 
cumulations are  slowly  made,  and  changes  in  the  mental 
constitution  are  slowly  wrought,  yet  it  is  frequently  con- 
fessed by  the  best  authorities  upon  this  subject  that  such 
sudden  changes  as  occur  in  conversion  must  be  recog- 
nized and  confessed,  and  that  there  is  no  incompatibility 
between  the  general  laws  laid  down  by  psychology  and 
the  most  startling  alterations  in  the  way  of  character. 
It  is  the  preacher's  duty  to  teach  men  how  these  alter- 
ations are  brought  about;  how  the  positive  change  in 
character  may  be  determined;  and  how  it  is  to  be  so 
effected  that  there  shall  not  be  a  return  to  the  former 
conditions.  The  preacher  should  teach  the  necessity  of 
the  converted  man's  making  as  decided  an  initiative  in 
his  Christian  life  as  possible,  throwing  about  his  reso- 
lution every  possible  safeguard,  taking  a  public  pledge, 
making  a  formal  confession  of  his  faith,  and  determining 
by  divine  help  not  to  suffer  any  lapse  in  character  through 
the  recurrence  of  his  evil  habits.  If  what  is  called  "con- 
tinuity of  training"  is  taught  by  psychologists  to  be  the 
only  proper  means  of  making  the  nervous  system  act  in- 
variably right,  it  may  be  well  for  the  preacher  to  show 
how  this  principle  is  fully  borne  out  by  the  teachings  of 
the  Scripture.  The  new  life  may  be  launched  in  such 
a  way  that  all  the  old  bonds  will  be  broken,  the  old  mo- 
tives blasted,  and  new  desires  and  new  affections  will 
be  formed.  Science  has  come  to  the  aid  of  religion  in 
this  respect.  Nevertheless  the  preacher  may  teach  that 
regeneration  is  a  supernatural  work,  accomplished  only 
by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  is  in  this  respect  one 
of  the  most  forceful  arguments  for  the  divine  origin  of 
the  gospel  which  can  be  placed  before  men.  Other  fun- 
damental truths  allied  to  those  which  we  have  mentioned 


INSTRUCTION  197 

should  be  carefully  taught  from  the  pulpit.  It  is  im- 
possible to  mention  all  of  them. 

2.  The  preacher  should  teach  doctrine.  In  this  term 
we  refer  to  something  of  a  mor^  advanced  character 
than  those  fundamental  principles  with  which  we  have 
been  engaged ;  we  mean  the  deep  things  of  God,  the  mys- 
teries of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  fundamental 
principles  which  we  have  reviewed  are  the  milk  to  which 
the  apostle  referred,  and  doctrine  the  strong  meat. 

In  every  congregation  there  are  a  large  number  of 
thinking  men  and  women  who  read  religious  literature, 
who  are  familiar  with  the  latest  thought  upon  religious 
subjects,  and  who  are  very  much  more  anxious  to  be 
settled  in  the  truth  with  regard  to  all  these  things  than 
the  preacher  himself  may  suppose.  Many  of  them  will 
talk  much  more  freely  with  each  other  than  they  will 
with  the  minister  himself.  Many  of  them  hesitate  to  con- 
fide to  him  their  intellectual  difficulties,  but  they  are  pro- 
foundly desirous  to  obtain  light  which  they  may  follow 
with  no  uncertainty.  Such  men  and  women  look  to  the 
man  in  the  pulpit  for  guidance,  and  they  have  a  right  to 
expect  it  from  him.  They  welcome  anything  which  he 
may  say  upon  these  questions,  provided  he  appears  ca- 
pable of  discussing  them,  and  absolutely  honest  in  the 
views  which  he  advances. 

A  great  deal  is  said  with  regard  to  "practical  preach- 
ing," The  spirit  of  the  age  is  such  that  nothing  is  con- 
sidered as  of  great  value  unless  it  can  be  put  to  use,  and 
therefore  it  is  supposed  by  some  that  there  is  no  practical 
preaching  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term  except  that 
which  refers  to  external  duty,  Christian  activity,  works 
of  benevolence,  or  something  of  the  kind.  But  to  limit 
the  term  "practical"  to  preaching  of  this  character  ren- 
ders it  a  positive  misnomer.    That  preaching  is  practical 


198  THE  STUDY 

not  alone  which  results  in  external  action,  but  which  ac- 
complishes a  distinct  purpose.  Preaching  is  practical 
when  it  confirms  faith,  inspires  hope,  ministers  courage, 
or  in  any  other  way  assists  in  settling  the  minds  of  those 
to  whom  it  is  addressed.  In  this  view  of  the  matter  no 
preaching  is  more  practical  than  doctrinal  preaching,  if 
we  understand  by  this  not  the  mere  exhibition  of  dogma 
for  dogma's  sake,  but  the  clear  and  helpful  exhibition  of 
the  great  truths  which  are  contained  in  the  word  of  God 
for  the  sake  of  the  edification  of  those  to  whom  they  are 
communicated. 

These  thinking  men  and  women,  to  whom  we  have 
referred,  need  instruction  more  than  they  need  anything 
else.  Very  few  of  them  are  in  a  combative  frame  of 
mind ;  very  few,  indeed,  are  violently  arrayed  against  the 
Bible  or  the  Church ;  and  therefore  the  preacher  should 
not  undertake  anything  which  would  antagonize  them. 
He  must  not  ridicule  their  positions,  or  make  light  of 
their  doubts,  or  think  it  necessary  to  produce  labored 
arguments  in  order  to  convince  them.  The  first  element 
of  sermonizing,  in  this  respect,  and  to  this  end,  is  in- 
struction. These  people  want  to  know  more  about  God, 
His  nature,  the  administration  of  His  government,  His 
providential  dealings  with  mankind.  His  provisions  for 
their  well-being  here  and  hereafter,  and  more  than  all 
else  how  one  can  be  on  terms  with  Him.  These  men  and 
women  long  to  know  more  about  Jesus  Christ.  Who  was 
He?  Wherein  did  He  differ  from  mere  men?  What 
was  the  burden  of  His  teaching?  What  did  He  do  for 
the  world  on  Calvary?  What  is  the  deeper  meaning  of 
His  resurrection  and  ascension?  Thousands  of  people 
are  hungry  to-day  for  positive  instruction  with  regard 
to  such  matters — instruction  which  they  should  not  fail 
to  receive. 

It  was  not  so,  as  we  have  already  observed,  in  • 


INSTRUCTION  199 

former  age.  In  the  early  period  of  Protestantism,  and 
just  because  the  Reformers  had  broken  with  the  Mother 
Church,  it  became  necessary  for  the  preacher  to  teach 
his  people  the  views  of  truth  which  were  held  by  the 
Protestant  bodies.  The  Puritans  who  came  to  New  Eng- 
land were  doctrinal  preachers.  The  Puritan  ministry  ob- 
served with  great  diligence  the  teaching  function.  Per- 
haps their  discourses  would  be  tiresome  in  this  age,  and 
perhaps  their  methods  of  presenting  truth  would  not  se- 
cure that  attention  from  modem  congregations  which 
was  given  by  those  whom  they  addressed ;  but  their 
ministry  was  suited  to  the  age  and,  their  people  were 
thoroughly  instructed.  This  method  was  perpetuated 
through  several  generations  until  we  come  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  age  of  the  so-called  "pulpit  orators,"  the  age 
of  the  last  generation.  There  were  a  number  of  these 
distinguished  in  their  way,  and  followed  by  a  vast  num- 
ber of  people.  Most  of  the  preachers  of  the  Protestant 
Church  emulated  their  example,  and  endeavored  to  be- 
come pulpit  orators  themselves.  All  these  drew  upon 
the  accumulated  resources  of  instruction  which  their 
predecessors  had  furnished.  They  assumed  the  religious 
knowledge  upon  the  part  of  their  congregations,  and 
they  did  so  very  properly;  but  inasmuch  as  they  largely 
failed  in  exercising  the  teaching  function  themselves 
their  capital  was  after  a  time  expended.  A  generation 
was  born  without  the  knowledge  of  Scripture  truth  which 
their  parents  had  had.  The  attempt  was  made  to  supply 
it  chiefly  through  the  work  of  the  Sunday  school,  but 
with  indifferent  success.  It  was  really  not  supplied  at 
all.  It  now  devolves  upon  the  preacher  of  the  present 
age  to  restore  this  capital,  and  to  set  forth  without  de- 
lay the  teaching  of  the  Bible  with  regard  to  the  deep 
questions  that  agitate  the  minds  of  men. 

3.  Ordinances.     By  this  we  mean  those  institutions 


200  THE  STUDY 

of  divine  origin  for  which  it  is  the  special  duty  of  the 
Church  to  provide,  and  whose  sacredness  the  Church 
must  maintain.  The  first  and  chief  of  these  ordinances 
is  the  family.  There  is  crying  need  for  instruction  on 
the  part  of  the  pulpit  with  regard  to  this  holy  ordinance. 
The  original  meaning  of  marriage  has  been  almost  for- 
gotten: the  divine  constitution  of  the  family  is  not  un- 
derstood, and  there  is  no  one  thing  in  Arnerican  life,  or 
for  that  matter  in  the  life  of  the  whole  world,  which 
stands  so  much  in  need  of  reorganization  as  the  family. 
Marriage  is  the  organization  of  a  household  with  a  view 
to  the  propagation  of  a  Godly  seed.  The  marriage  bond 
is  absolutely  indissoluble  except  by  adultery  or  death. 
In  the  case  of  adultery  the  offending  party  has  no  right 
before  God  to  ever  marry  again.  The  family  is  the  unit 
of  society ;  it  comprises  three  elements — the  man,  the 
woman,  and  the  child,  in  the  order  which  has  been  stated. 
It  has  but  one  representative  before  the  state — the  man, 
the  head  of  the  house,  the  exponent  of  its  family  life; 
and  it  may  be  seriously  questioned  whether  it  ought  to 
have  more  than  the  one  representative  before  the  Church 
also.  If  the  preacher  will  give  solid  instruction  with  re- 
gard to  the  divine  ordinance  of  marriage,  and  the  divine 
institution  of  the  family,  he  will  perform  a  vast  service 
for  his  people,  settling  their  minds  with  regard  to  cer- 
tain questions  which  are  rife  at  the  present  day,  divorce, 
voluntary  childlessness,  suffrage,  and  the  like. 

Preachers  should  also  give  instruction  with  regard 
to  those  ordinances  which  belong  peculiarly  to  the 
Church ;  the  meaning  of  worship,  its  different  elements, 
prayer,  praise,  and  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel.  He 
should  teach  his  people  the  proper  attitude  of  their  minds 
during  worship  and  how  they  may  secure  the  greatest 
srood  from  its  observance. 


INSTRUCTION  201 

The  preacher  should  give  particular  instruction  with 
regard  to  the  sacraments  of  the  Church,  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  sacra- 
mental system  of  any  Church  is  its  central  and  domi- 
nating feature.  It  controls  its  worship,  its  polity,  and  its 
theology.  It  makes  the  Church  of  God  what  it  is,  and  it 
makes  any  particular  form  of  Christianity  what  it  is  as 
distinguished  from  other  forms.  In  former  generations 
preachers  were  accustomed  to  give  minute  instruction 
with  regard  to  the  sacraments.  The  older  men  of  to-day 
can  remember  when  the  occasion  of  every  Lord's  Supper 
was  improved  as  an  opportunity  for  teaching  those  truths 
of  Scripture  which  are  symbolized  in  the  sacramental 
elements.  But  during  the  generation  which  is  just  pass- 
ing Protestant  preachers  departed  almost  entirely  from 
these  practices.  Their  preparatory  addresses  and  their 
sacramental  sermons  were  almost  entirely  devoted  to  sen- 
timental and  pathetic  meditation  upon  the  sufiferings  of 
Christ,  or  to  earnest  exhortation  to  consecrated  lives. 
Those  who  comprise  the  membership  of  our  Churches 
to-day  have  largely  grown  up  without  understanding  why 
the  Lord's  Supper  is  observed,  how  it  should  be  sancti- 
fied, or  what  it  signifies. 

4.  Christian  activities.  The  preacher  should  give  his 
people  particular  instruction  with  regard  to  the  large 
organized  endeavors  of  the  Christian  Church  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  more  particularly  its  missionary  operations. 
He  will  find  not  only  that  his  people  are  very  ignorant 
with  regard  to  what  is  going  on  in  the  world  to-day  in 
the  course  of  its  enlightenment,  but  that  they  will  listen 
with  interest,  even  with  eagerness,  to  the  information 
which  he  may  bring  to  them.  He  should  also  carefully 
direct  those  activities  that  are  prosecuted  in  his  own  con- 
gregation, and  be  himself  a  very  part  of  them.     There 


ao2  THE  STUDY 

should  be  a  Sunday  school  normal  class  in  every  Church 
which  the  preacher  himself  should  conduct,  because  he 
is  the  arch^eacher  of  the  congregation,  and  this  work 
should  not  be  committed  to  the  hands  of  any  one  else. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  preacher  know 
what  is  being  taught  in  his  Sunday  school,  and  he  can 
not  know  in  any  other  way  so  well  as  by  himself  telling 
his  Sunday  school  teachers  what  to  teach.  In  many 
Churches  also  certain  societies  undertake  systematic  train- 
ing, the  Young  People's  Society,  and  the  Women's  ]\Iis- 
sionary  Society,  for  example.  There  may  also  be  a  Tem- 
perance Society  in  the  Church,  or  other  organizations 
which  endeavor  after  a  fashion  to  instruct  their  mem- 
bers in  some  particular  line  of  work.  The  preacher  should 
see  to  all  this:  his  pulpit  work  should  have  reference  to 
it.  Occasionally  he  should  pass  these  different  organi- 
zations in  review,  and  call  the  attention  of  his  entire  con- 
gregation to  that  which  they  are  doing.  Beyond  this,  he 
should  not  fail  to  have  in  mind  some  distinct  Christian 
work  to  which  he  can  refer  the  members  of  his  congre- 
gation, and  in  which  he  shall  counsel  them  to  be  engaged. 
5.  Christian  morality.  We  should  use  the  term  "eth- 
ics," but  that  we  think  it  might  be  misunderstood.  It 
is  not  simple  ethics  which  the  preacher  is  to  bring  to  his 
congregation,  but  that  sort  of  ethics  which  is  tied  to  the 
throne  of  God,  and  finds  its  expression  in  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ.  We  call  this  Christian  morality.  There 
is  very  much  need  for  instruction  along  this  line  be- 
cause, owing  to  the  general  dissemination  of  Christian 
principles  and  the  general  conformity  to  Christian  stand- 
ards, a  very  large  number  exist  who  do  not  confess  the 
Lord  Christ,  and  who  do  not  claim  to  be  Christians,  who 
yet  wish  to  be  regiardcd  as  moral  men.  Christian  moral- 
ity is  in  the  air :  it  is  one  of  the  assets  of  modern  civili- 


INSTRUCTION  2n 

zation.  The  Christian  minister  must  recognize  the  fact, 
and  so  teach  his  people  as  that  Christianity  shall  not  only 
get  credit  for  that  which  it  does  outside  the  Christian 
communion,  but  also  that  those  who  value  morality  shall 
tind  their  motive  for  it,  and  their  explanation  of  it,  in 
the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Savior. 

This  Christian  morality  has  its  extension  out  into  all 
the  fields  of  thought  and  effort.  It  touches  politics,  com- 
merce, and  the  social  life;  and  the  preacher  should  in- 
struct his  people  with  regard  to  its  application  to  all 
these  things. 

6.  One  more  subject  of  instruction  should  be  men- 
tioned. Those  which  we  have  already  discussed  touch 
the  mental  and  actual  life  of  the  congregation — their 
thoughts  and  their  efforts.  But  the  preacher  has  also  a 
very  large  field  for  instruction  in  another  department. 
He  has  to  deal  not  only  with  the  motives  and  efforts  of  / 
men  and  women,  but  with  their  joys  and  sorrows,  their 
disappointments  and  heartaches;  and  considerable  of  his 
thought  should  be  given  to  the  matter  of  consolation.  It 
is  not  enough  for  him  that  he  should  express  his  sym- 
pathy from  the  pulpit.  He  should  teach  his  people  where 
comfort  and  strength  are  to  be  found,  and  how  they  may 
be  secured.  He  is  not  to  lead  them  along  the  line  of 
mere  sentimental  consideration,  and  dwell  upon  the  mercy 
of  God,  or  the  compassion  of  the  Savior  without  showing 
upon  what  they  rest.  The  slipping  feet  of  his  parish- 
ioners will  stand  much  more  securely  when  he  leads  them 
beneath  and  behind  all  this  to  the  fundamental  elements 
of  consolation,  and  their  throbbing  hearts  will  be  set  to 
rest  much  more  effectually  when  he  is  able  to  unveil  for  ^ 
them  the  purpose  of  God  and  the  work  of  the  Redeemer.  | 

A  certain  Christian  lady,  who  was  deeply  bereaved, 
was  visited  by  her  friends  who,  in  order  to  her  consola- 


ao4  THE  STUDY 

tion,  enquired  if  they  should  sing  for  her.  She  gladly 
answered,  "Yes,"  and  they  inquired  what  should  they 
sing.    She  answered: 

"Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts 

On  Jewish  altars  slain, 
Could  give  the  guilty  conscience  peace, 
Or  take  away  the  stain." 

Such  an  answer  might  seem  very  strange  to  some,  es- 
pecially to  a  young  and  inexperienced  preacher.  But  the 
old  saint  fully  understood  the  source  of  all  true  comfort. 
It  is  found  only  in  the  provisions  of  the  divine  grace  as 
exhibited  upon  Calvary.  Slattery  says  with  regard  to 
this  matter,  and  most  appropriately,  "The  preacher  must 
preach  doctrinal  sermons.  He  must  preach  the  most 
divine  things  of  God  which  he  can  grasp.  For  comfort 
to  be  comfort  must  be  more  than  sweet  words  and  flow- 
ing assurances.  It  must  be  based  on  the  firmest,  deepest 
facts  of  life.  There  must  be  reasons,  reasons  so  good 
that  the  mind  will  be  convinced.  The  doctrinal  sermon 
stands  for  comfort  because  it  is  constructive.  It  never 
tears  down  ;  it  always  builds  up.  Men  need  comfort ;  they 
therefore  need  faith,  all  they  can  get  of  it." 

It  would  be  well,  therefore,  for  the  preacher  to  lay  out 
for  himself  a  definite  course  of  instruction,  which  may 
be  modified,  of  course,  by  circumstances,  but  so  arranged 
as  that  such  subjects  as  we  have  indicated,  with  others 
that  it  may  seem  well  to  him  to  cover,  may  be  embraced 
in  it. 

II.  How  is  this  instruction  to  be  given? 
\  I.  It  is  not  to  be  given  by  entering  at  any  time  into 
the  offensive  particulars  of  human  life  and  conduct.  This 
refers  more  especially  to  those  subjects  which  have  to  do 
with  the  public  life  of  a  community.  There  was  a  time , 
not  very  long  ago  when  some  preachers  supposed  that, 
in  order  to  preach  successfully  with  regard  to  vice,  it  was 


INSTRUCTION  305 

necessary  for  them  to  fully  inform  themselves  with  re- 
gard to  conditions  in  what  is  called  the  "red-light"  dis- 
tricts of  the  cities.  They  went  "slumming,"  protected 
by  a  police  escort.  They  visited  the  gambling  houses  and 
brothels,  and  brought  to  their  people  an  account  of  their 
visits.  This  horrible  infection  even  invaded  some  of  the 
theological  seminaries,  and  young  men  preparing  for  the 
ministry  were  persuaded  to  do  this  awful  thing.  The 
sort  of  instruction  that  comes  out  of  such  experience  is 
worse  than  worthless.  So  far  from  doing  good,  it  does 
only  harm  to  the  preacher  himself  and  to  those  who  listen 
to  him.  An  array  of  evil  conditions,  the  details  of  sinful 
practices,  are  not  edifying.  Likewise  there  have  been  I 
those  who  have  supposed  that  the  man  who  has  himself 
experienced  the  effects  of  a  vicious  life  was  the  best  one 
to  warn  the  people  with  regard  to  it,  or  to  instruct  them 
with  regard  to  the  way  of  escape  from  it,  and  such  men 
are  sometimes  eagerly  sought  after.  Their  descriptions 
of  their  own  degradation  have  proved  attractive  to  a  cer- 
tain class  of  minds,  and  have  been  supposed  to  be  stimu- 
lating to  their  morality.  The  same  false  principle  has 
obtained  in  various  ways.  A  certain  very  commendable 
effort  to  reclaim  fallen  women  was  largely  sustained 
through  the  sale  of  a  book  which  described  the  methods 
by  which  young  girls  were  lured  to  their  ruin.  But  all 
such  methods  are  to  be  deplored,  and  the  preacher  is  not 
called  upon  to  follow  any  of  them  in  his  methods  of  in- 
struction. The  principle  upon  which  they  rest  is  alto- 
gether mistaken.  The  best  teachers  of  purity  are  those  -^ 
who  have  always  been  pure  themselves.  We  may  "set  a 
thief  to  catch  a  thief,"  but  we  may  not  commission  one 
to  reclaim  him.  It  is  not  the  preacher's  business  to  set 
forth  the  details  of  any  sinful  course  of  life  in  order  to 
remedy  it. 

No  more  is  it  his  business  to  instruct  those  who  are 


3«6  THE  STUDY 

not  conducting  their  affairs  according  to  the  principles 
of  the  gospel  with  regard  to  particulars — such  as  the 
making  of  contracts,  the  engaging  of  employees,  and 
other  matters  as  belong  to  their  own  personal  supervi- 
sion. It  is  not  for  him  to  instruct  his  congregation  at 
length  with  regard  to  the  various  duties  of  Christian 
citizenship,  nor  to  give  particular  advice  to  those  who 
direct  the  affairs  of  the  political  world.  He  is  not  to 
catalogue  the  sins  of  polite  society,  or  hold  them  up  to 
the  ridicule  or  scorn  of  his  congregation.  The  preacher 
may  not  legitimately  pursue  any  such  course  in  order  to 
instruct  his  people  with  regard  to  the  matters  which  have 
been  already  set  forth. 

The  preacher  will  do  well  to  make  a  careful  study 
of  the  method  of  the  inspired  preachers  as  it  is  set  forth 
in  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments.  The  prophets  of 
ancient  Israel  gave  very  particular  attention  to  such  mat- 
ters as  have  been  mentioned.  In  a  certain  sense  they 
were  political  and  social  reformers,  but  they  were  not 
reformers  in  the  sense  in  which  that  word  is  ordinarily 
used,  in  that  they  did  not  attempt  to  right  the  wrongs 
and  correct  the  abuses  of  society  by  instituting  a  dis- 
tinct regime  in  the  place  of  that  which  already  existed. 
Take  the  prophecy  of  Amos  for  example.  We  learn 
very  much  more  of  the  internal  condition  of  the  kingdom 
of  Israel  under  Jeroboam  II,  from  this  prophecy  than 
we  do  from  the  contemporaneous  historical  books.  Its 
actual  state  is  very  plainly  set  before  us.  We  perceive 
the  effect  of  the  financial  prosperity  which  the  people 
enjoyed  in  consequence  of  the  extension  of  their  terri- 
tory and  the  increase  of  their  trade.  We  see  their  splen- 
did summer  houses  and  winter  palaces,  many  of  them 
adorned  with  marble  and  ivory,  and  furnished  with  splen- 
did hangings,  and  articles  of  beauty.    The  luxury  of  the 


INSTRUCTION  207 

people  is  set  before  us  in  their  beds  of  ivory,  their  sump- 
tuous couches,  their  elaborate  banquets,  their  merry  mu- 
sic, their  splendid  drinking  vessels,  and  their  costly 
anointing  oils.  In  the  meantime  we  observe  their  de- 
votion to  the  externals  forms  of  religious  service — their 
daily  sacrifices,  their  tithes  every  three  days,  their  abun- 
dant free  wiW  offerings  and  the  like,  and  yet  there  is  no 
minute  discription  of  any  of  these  things,  but  only  those 
graphic  references  which  are  found  here  and  there  in 
the  prophet's  arraignment.  There  is  no  attempt  upon 
his  part  to  paint  a  picture  of  the  times,  and  yet  his 
preaching  is  as  timely  as  possible.  He  condemns  them 
for  theif  injustice,  their  oppression  of  the  poor,  their 
many  immoralities,  even  those  of  their  aristocratic  wo- 
men. He  pronounces  the  judgment  of  God  upon  them 
in  no  unmeasured  terms,  and  tells  them  plainly  why  they 
have  been  already  cursed  with  drought  and  mildew  and 
the  blasting  of  their  vineyards  and  olive-yards.  Amos  is 
faithful  to  his  commission.  He  holds  the  plumb-line  of 
Jehovah  before  the  eyes  of  Jehovah's  recreant  people,  and 
when  he  is  counseled  to  take  refuge  in  flight  lest  he  pay 
the  penalty  of  his  boldness  and  his  fidelity  by  his  death, 
he  refuses  to  be  turned  aside.  His  preaching  is  full  of 
illustration,  argument,  exhortation,  and  gentle  pleading 
with  the  people.  He  uses  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
figures  of  speech  in  order  to  describe  the  condition  which 
is  coming  upon  Israel  which  is  to  be  found  anywhere 
in  sacred  literature.  It  is  that  of  the  "Famine  of  the 
word  of  God"  found  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  his  book, 
beginning  with  the  eleventh  verse.  And  his  other  figure 
of  the  pursuing  sword,  found  in  the  ninth  chapter,  is 
equally  expressive.  Though  these  sinners  of  Israel  were 
to  dig  into  Sheol,  thence  would  the  hand  of  Jehovah  take 
them.     Though  they  were  to  climb  up  into  heaven  He 


3o8  THE  STUDY 

would  bring  them  down.  Though  they  should  hide  them- 
selves in  the  top  of  Carmel,  Jehovah  woul  a  search  them 
out.  Though  they  should  cover  themselves  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea,  even  there  He  would  find  them.  Cap- 
tivity would  not  conceal  them  from  the  Almighty.  Jeho- 
vah would  follow  them  to  the  end.  And  yet,  for  all  this 
terrible  warning  and  proclamation  of  severe  judgment, 
the  preaching  of  Amos  contains  some  of  the  sweetest 
promises  which  are  to  be  found  in  all  Old  Testament 
prophecy,  expressed  also  in  a  figure  of  speech.  The  house 
of  Israel  would  be  sifted  among  all  the  nations  as  grain 
is  sifted  in  a  sieve,  but  the  least  kernel  should  not  fall 
upon  the  earth.  The  tabernacle  of  David  which  was 
fallen  down  was  to  be  rebuilt  and  its  breaches  repaired. 
The  blessing  of  God  was  to  return  upon  the  land,  its 
barrenness  was  to  be  healed.  The  days  would  come 
when  the  plowman  should  overtake  the  reaper,  and  the 
treader  of  grapes  him  that  sowed  the  seed,  and  the  moun- 
tains should  drop  sweet  wine  and  all  the  hills  should 
melt.  Jehovah  would  bring  back  the  captivity  of  His 
people  Israel.  They  would  again  be  planted  in  their 
own  land,  and  would  no  more  be  plucked  up  out  of 
their  land  for  ever. 
^  The  preacher  who  desires  to  know  how  he  is  to  give 

instruction  to  his  people  can  not  do  better  than  to  make 
a  careful  study  of  such  preaching  as  that  of  Amos.  But 
the  other  inspired  preachers  proceeded  upon  the  same 
A  method.  Consult,  for  example,  the  preaching  of  John 
the  Baptist.  Jesus  declared  that  he  was  the  greatest 
man  that  ever  lived.  Certainly  he  was  the  greatest 
preacher  who  ever  preached,  Jesus  Himself  alone  ex- 
cepted. No  man  has  ever  enjoyed  such  popularity,  using 
that  word  in  its  best  sense,  as  John  the  Baptist.  Evi- 
dently his  preaching  was  attractive  and  original,  or  he 


INSTRUCTION  309 

would  not  have  commanded  such  a  following.  He  emp- 
tied the  cities,  he  populated  the  wildernesses,  he  threw 
society  into  a  ferment.  All  classes  came  into  the  wilder- 
nesses to  hear  him,  soldiers  and  civilians,  Pharisees  and 
publicans,  merchants  and  mechanics,  and  they  were 
swayed  beneath  his  oratory  as  reeds  before  the  wind. 
They  heeded  his  calls  to  repentance  and  multitudes  were 
baptized  by  him,  confessing  their  sins.  But  John  the  Bap- 
tist, like  Amos,  was  not  a  reformer  in  the  technical  sense 
of  that  word,  nor  did  he  preach  a  reform  as  the  term 
is  generally  understood.  The  student  may  learn  for  him- 
self just  how  he  preached.  Consult,  for  example,  the 
account  given  by  Luke — 'his  answer  to  the  question  of 
the  multitudes,  to  that  of  the  publicans,  and  to  that  of 
the  soldiers  on  service.  He  gives  us  no  photographic 
picture  of  the  evil  life  of  the  age.  We  do  not  learn  from 
him  the  character  of  the  extortions  of  the  publicans,  or 
the  cruelty  of  the  soldiers!  but  we  do  see  from  his  an- 
swers to  their  questions  that  they  knew  that  he  under- 
stood all  the  conditions  of  their  lives  and  was  capable 
of  advising  them  with  regard  to  their  correction. 

But  above  all,  the  preacher  will  learn  from  the  method 
of  the  Savior  Himself,  for  Jesus  is  Himself  the  supreme 
example  of  the  way  in  which  instruction  is  to  be  brought 
to  the  people  with  regard  to  moral  and  spiritual  sub- 
jects. Is  it  not  a  most  remarkable  thing  that  He  who 
came  to  be  the  Savior  of  the  world,  to  turn  it  upside 
down,  to  reverse  the  very  principles  by  which  it  had 
been  governed,  and  to  reorganize  society  so  completely 
that  many  of  those  things  which  were  uppermost  were 
henceforth  to  be  undermost,  and  many  of  those  things 
which  were  undermost  were  henceforth  to  be  uppermost, 
yet  does  not  enter  into  any  formal  description  of  the 
evils  which  He  will  Himself  correct?     Jesus  has  not 


2IO  TMK  STUDY 

given  us  a  single  discourse  such  as  are  demanded  many 
times  by  the  people  of  to-day  of  the  preachers  of  to-day. 
When  the  Pharisees  conspire  with  the  Herodians  to  en- 
trap Him  into  a  sermon  whose  text  they  would  them- 
selves furnish  Him,  He  refuses  to  be  drawn  into  the 
controversy.  His  answer  is  as  skillful  as  it  is  profound. 
"Show  me  the  tribute  money.  Render  unto  Caesar  the 
things  that  are  Caesar's  and  unto  God  the  things  that 
are  God's."  No  wonder  that  they  marvelled.  When 
the  young  man  comes  to  Him,  beseeching  Him  to  be- 
come himself  a  civil  judge,  and  thus  sit  in  judgment  not 
only  upon  his  own  brother,  but  upon  the  very  jurispru- 
dence of  the  age,  Jesus  Himself  declines  to  render  a 
verdict.  He  was  not  sent  to  be  a  judge  in  such  affairs, 
but  He  improves  the  occasion  to  preach  a  far  better  ser- 
mon than  would  have  been  given  had  he  entered  into 
a  discussion  of  current  jurisprudence,  and  warns  His 
followers  against  that  wretched  covetousness  which  gives 
occasion  for  so  many  law-suits.  And  so  in  a  vast  va- 
riety of  incidents,  into  which  we  can  not  enter,  the  Sav- 
ior is  the  supreme  example  of  proper  pulpit  instruction. 
2,  Proceeding  then  to  answer  in  more  explicit  terms 
the  question.  How  is  this  insitruction  to  be  given,  we  note 
that  it  is  to  be  given  by  the  exposition  of  the  Scripture 
and  in  ^  other  way.  In  order  to  do  this  work  the 
preacher  does  not  depart  from  the  word  of  God,  its  ex- 
planation, and  its  application.  He  does  not  seek  for 
subjects  of  instruction  by  themselves  upon  which  he  may 
^  discourse  when  he  enters  the  pulpit.  He  does  not  say, 
for  example,  "Now,  I  shall  preach  to  my  people  to-day 
a  sermon  upon  the  political  situation,  upon  the  vicious 
amusements  to  which  they  are  given,  upon  the  dishon- 
esty which  is  invading  business  life,"  and  so  on.  But 
while  he  is  himself  engaged  in  the  reading  of  the  Word 


INSTRUCTION  311 

of  God  he  finds  a  passage  containing  some  abiding  prin- 
ciple which  he  perceives  to  be  particularly  applicable  to 
political  conditions,  forms  of  amusement,  or  the  conduct 
of  worldly  business.  It  may  be  that  this  passage  is  set 
forth  in  connection  with  some  historical  incident  or  other 
illustration  of  its  character  and  power.  He  preaches  that 
passage  of  Scripture.  While  he  does  not  depart  from  it, 
and  while  he  is  chiefly  occupied  in  making  its  meaning 
clear,  he  shows  its  timeliness,  its  pertinency  to  the  pe- 
culiar juncture,  and  its  application  to  affairs  as  they  are 
at  the  time.  So  he  preaches ;  and  sermon  is  full  of  such 
instruction  as  he  should  convey.  A  fine  illustration  of 
the  method  is  found  in  the  story  of  a  great  teacher  of 
history  who  was  accustomed  to  say  to  his  class,  "I  ex- 
pect you  to  get  your  facts  out  of  books.  In  my  class- 
room you  will  get  only  their  interpretation."  So  the 
preacher  should  expect  his  people  to  get  their  own  facts. 
If  he  undertakes  to  furnish  them  he  may  involve  him- 
self in  serious  error  if  not  in  positive  disgrace.  He  is 
not  an  expert  in  such  things.  Politicians  know  far  more 
fhan  he  with  regard  to  the  corruption  in  public  life. 
Business  men  know  far  more  than  he  with  regard  to  the 
evils  of  speculation  and  what  not ;  and  so  with  much 
else  upon  which  he  may  be  tempted  to  preach.  The 
people  then  may  get  the  facts  for  themselves,  but  they 
will  look  to  him  for  the  interpretation,  and  in  order  that 
he  may  interpret  them  as  he  should  it  is  not  necessary 
that  he  should  know  all  the  facts,  but  only  that  he  should 
know,  and  know  certainly,  and  know  well,  their  positive 
bearing,  as  he  has  learned  it  from  Scripture. 

This  is  particularly  true  when  some  great  event  oc- 
cupies the  attention  of  his  people.  The  event  may  be 
some  catastrophe,  the  revelation  of  some  deep  iniquity, 
or  something  of  a  different  character,  which  promotes 


212  THE  STUDY 

careful  and  serious  thinking  upon  the  part  of  his  peo- 
ple. They  come  to  Church  expecting  to  hear  something 
from  the  man  in  the  pulpit  with  regard  to  that  which  has 
so  startled  them,  and  the  man  in  the  pulpit  should  have 
something  to  say  with  regard  to  it.  He  will  have  some- 
thing to  say,  but  it  will  be  said  in  connection  with  some 
Scripture  which  has  come  into  his  mind  in  this  very 
connection,  and  which  shows  its  relation  to  the  will  of 
God,  the  judgment  of  sin,  or  human  responsibility. 

If  the  preacher  proceeds  upon  this  principle  he  will 
show  men  how  to  estimate  in  life  what  artists  in  their 
own  profession  call  "values."  He  will  show  them  those 
things  that  bulk  large  in  human  influence  and  human 
action.  He  will  teach  them,  as  an  old  philosopher  said 
centuries  ago,  to  "see  life  whole."  He  will  set  life  for 
them  in  the  light  of  eternity.  To  use  an  old  but  most 
significant  theological  expression  it  will  all  be  sub  specie 
eternitatis. 

Education  is  defined  by  psychologists  as  the  organi- 
zation of  acquired  habits  of  conduct  and  tendencies  to 
behavior.  We  accept  this  definition  for  sermonic  pur- 
poses, and  declare  that  this  is  exactly  the  education 
which  the  pulpit  is  to  communicate.  The  preacher  is 
to  seek  above  all  things  else  in  his  education  to  organize 
the  capacities  of  his  people  for  conduct.  First  of  all, 
these  habits  are  to  receive  from  him  an  initial  organiza- 
tion in  connection  with  the  education  of  that  fundamental 
truth  of  which  we  have  spoken.  He  is  to  endeavor  in 
his  pulpit  work  to  have  them  launch  new  habits  and  new 
influences,  in  consequence  of  a  new  impulse  which  has 
been  given  to  their  minds  with  tremendous  initial  force 
under  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  so  that  their  old 
order  of  habits  shall  be  broken  up,  new  motives  intro- 
duced and  new  habits  engendered,  and  all  his  educa- 


INSTRUCTION  213 

tional  work  in  the  pulpit  is  to  be  along  the  same  line, 
no  matter  what  special  subject  he  may  pursue.  He  is 
to  buttress  and  reinforce  the  consciences  of  the  men 
who  sit  in  the  pews,  so  that  they  may  do  the  particular 
work  of  reformation  which  he  himself  is  not  called  upon 
to  do.  It  is  his  business  to  reorganize  society,  but  only 
by  giving  power  to  its  leaders.  It  is  not  his  place  to 
reorganize  business,  so  that  dishonest  practices  shall  be 
broken  up  and  fair  play  shall  be  the  rule,  and  right  un- 
derstanding shall  exist  between  those  that  serve  and  those 
that  are  served.  This  duty  devolves  upon  Christian  busi- 
ness men,  not  upon  the  preacher,  but  it  does  devolve 
upon  the  preacher  to  give  to  those  Christian  business 
men  their  initial  impulse  and  to  support  them  from  the 
pulpit  in  all  their  holy  endeavors.  So  likewise  it  is  the 
part  of  Christian  citizens  to  interest  themselves  in  polit- 
ical questions:  Christian  lawyers  must  detect  political 
corruption  and  pursue  those  methods  in  detail  which 
look  to  its  removal ;  but  the  minister  is  to  be  behind  these 
Christian  lawyers  and  Christian  citizens  and  support  them 
by  those  divine  principles  which  he  expounds  from  the 
Word  of  God.  It  is  the  duty  of  Christian  physicians  to 
instruct  the  people  with  regard  to  certain  forms  of  vice 
which  prey  upon  the  health  and  morals  of  young  peo- 
ple, corrupt  their  physical  natures,  and  render  them  un- 
fit for  marriage  and  a  burden  to  themselves.  It  is  for 
the  Christian  physician  to  correct  those  evil  practices 
whereby  marriage  itself  becomes  only  a  legitmate  concu- 
binage and  the  evils  of  divorce  are  increased.  But  it 
is  for  the  Christian  minister  to  stand  behind  the  Chris- 
tian physicians  of  his  congregation  and  encourage  them 
to  do  that  work  in  detail  which  devolves  upon  them. 

So  it  is  that  the  minister's  work  of  education  pro- 
ceeds.    From  first  to  last  he  must  have  before  him  the 


214  THE  STUDY 

example  and  teaching  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  all 
his  instruction  is  to  be  given  in  His  spirit  and  lead  to 
His  cross.  He  must  set  forth  in  the  plainest  terms  the 
nature  of  that  sin,  and  the  guilt  of  that  sin  which  brought 
the  Lord  of  Glory  to  earth  that  He  might  overcome  its 
effects  and  save  its  subjects.  He  must  be  given  to  np 
tawdry  philosophy  by  which  indifference  to  sin  is  culti- 
vated, and  the  effects  of  sin  obscured.  He  must  not  hide 
from  his  people  its  hideous  drift  and  its  awful  end.  It 
is  said  of  Thomas  Arnold  of  Rugby  that  one  reason  why 
he  inspired  the  boys  of  England  by  the  brilliancy  of  his 
own  ideals  was  that  he  also  made  their  teeth  chatter  be- 
fore the  hideous  power  of  sin.  He  hated  it  himself  so 
cordially  that  when  his  boys  were  detected  in  some  of- 
fense, the  master  snatched  their  hands  as  from  scorching 
flame,  and  his  noble  face  looked  down  upon  them  with 
contempt  and  scorn.  The  pupil  saw  his  sin  and  was 
thereby  saved  from  its  power,  and  there  was  nothing 
that  those  young  lads  in  Rugby  so  much  dreaded  as  the 
condemnation  of  their  master.  It  must  be  somewhat  so 
with  the  preacher,  and  with  his  relations  to  his  people. 


ARGUMENTATION. 


^ 


ARGUMENTATION. 

This  is  not  an  argumentative  age. 
Instruction  has  precedence. 
Method  of  the  apostles  and  of  Jesus. 

I.  Uses  of  Argument. 

1.  To  confirm  believers. 

2.  To  win  the  undecided. 

3.  To  silence  scoffers. 
The  preacher  to: — 

(i)   Bear  in  mind  that  he  is  not  replied  to. 

(2)  To  give  special  care  to  definition. 

(3)  To  be  modest. 

II.  Method  of  presentation. 

1.  The  "Burden  of  Proof." 

2.  Presumption. 

J II.  The  best  argument. 
IV.  Order  of  arguments. 


Read   Broadus,    Part  I,   Chap.  VII;    Bond's   "Master  Preacher,"   Chap.    X 
Jevon's   "Logic;"   Crother's  "Gentle  Reader,"  III;    D«nny,  Duncaa, 
and  McKinney's  "  Argumentation  and  Debate." 


XIII. 
ARGUMENTATION. 

There  is  not  the  same  need  for  argumentation  in  ser- 
monizing which  there  once  was.  The  age  in  which  we 
live  is  not  in  any  large  sense  an  argumentative  age. 
There  are.  indeed,  very  few  departments  of  thought  in 
which  there  is  any  loud  call  for  argument.  It  seems  to 
be  confined  almost  altogether  to  politics,  but  even  in  pol- 
itics it  has  very  largely  decreased,  and  in  many  impor- 
tant respects  it  has  been  largely  modified.  There  are  no 
longer  the  acrimonious  debates  of  a  past  generation,  and 
there  are  few  public  questions  which  are  calculated  to 
provoke  them ;  so  that  in  the  administration  of  civil  af- 
fairs, as  in  much  else,  the  "campaign  of  education"  has 
become  the  popular  thing. 

It  is  even  so  in  the  pulpit.  There  was  a  time  when 
all  the  various  Christian  denominations  seemed  to  feel 
the  importance  of  educating  their  young  preachers  in 
the  art  of  debate.  Sermonizers  were  expected  to  be 
finished  logicians.  Many  of  these  denominations  were 
struggling  for  their  very  existence ;  their  peculiar  doc- 
trines were  to  be  defended,  and  their  peculiar  views  of 
truth  and  duty  were  to  be  urgently  advanced.  Common 
Christianity,  indeed,  has  at  times  seemed  to  be  threatened 
with  serious  calamity,  and  the  common  faith  had  need 
of  trained  and  capable  defenders.  In  these  denomina- 
tions, and  in  such  days,  polemical  theology  was  a  very 
important  part  of  the  curriculum  of  the  theological  sem- 

217 


2i8  THE  STUDY 

inaries,  and  students  were  much  devoted  to  it.  But  those 
days  have  virtually  passed,  and  the  need  of  argumenta- 
tion is  felt  to-day  only  among  a  few  bodies  of  Christians 
which  depend  for  their  growth  upon  the  vindication 
of  certain  peculiar  ceremonies  or  theories  whereby  they 
are  differentiated  from  the  rest  of  Christendom. 

TJiis  change  in  the  character  of  the  age  has  pro- 
duced a  very  manifest  change  in  the  peculiar  zeal  of  the 
most  acceptable  and  influential  preachers.  The  defense 
of  (the  truth  of  God  is  just  as  important  as  it  ever  was. 
It  is  still  assailed,  and  it  must  be  still  defended ;  but  the 
truth  of  God  is  held  in  common — ^at  least  in  its  funda- 
mental elements,  by  such  a  multitude  of  people,  and  by 
the  ministers  of  so  many  different  religious  bodies,  that 
the  zeal  for  those  subordinate  respects,  wherein  the  views 
of  the  members  of  one  denomination  differ  from  the 
views  of  those  in  another,  has  largely  disappeared. 
Orthodoxy  has  become  to  some  as  offensive  a  term  as 
heterodoxy  has  been  to  others.  This  Is  not  because 
those  who  are  offended  by  it  are  not  orthodox,  but  be- 
cause the  word  carries  with  it  a  certain  sense  of  partisan- 
s'hip  which  is  not  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  age. 
Zeal  for  the  truth  is  one  thing;  but  zeal  for  orthodoxy 
is  altogether  another  thing ;  because  while  in  the  minds 
of  some  orthodoxy  can  not  be  distinguished  from  truth, 
the  clear  and  practical  thinkers  will  maintain  that  while 
the  truth  which  lies  in  the  Word  of  God  is  in  every  sense 
divine,  the  form  of  expression  in  theological  formulas 
is  in  a  very  large  sense  human.  So,  in  connection  with 
the  passing  of  the  argumentative  spirit,  a  certain  belliger- 
ent and  rancorous  zeal  even  for  orthodoxy,  such  as  char- 
acterized many  good  men  in  the  past,  has  been  relegated 
to  oblivion.  The  old  "war  horses,"  as  they  were  called, 
of  a  past  generation  have  well-nigh  disappeared.     The 


ARGUMENTATION  219 

few  that  still  remain  find  their  occupation  gone,  and 
when  one  of  them  still  persists  in  blowing  the  trumpet 
he  is  very  apt  to  find  himself  without  an  audience. 

Instruction,  as  we  have  considered,  is  taking  the  place 
of  argumentation  in  the  Christian  pulpit.  The  campaign 
of  education  is  on  with  the  ministry,  as  with  many  an- 
other class  which  seeks  the  good  of  society. 

The  older  books  upon  homiletics  gave  a  very  large 
place  to  the  consideration  of  argumentation ;  some  of 
them  devoted  chapter  after  chapter  to  the  subject.  Va- 
rious forms  of  argument  were  considered,  one  after  an- 
other, with  minute  care  and  large  emphasis,  but  it  is  a 
most  significant  fact  that  the  books  upon  preaching  in 
its  various  forms  which  have  appeared  within  the  past  few- 
years  contain  scarcely  a  reference  to  the  subject.  The 
writer  has  examined  many  of  them  with  a  view  to  de- 
termining the  exact  condition  of  the  case,  and  in  only 
one  has  he  found  a  separate  chapter  devoted  to  the  sub- 
ject— that  chapter  containing  less  than  five  pages,  and 
reviewing  very  briefly  but  four  of  the  ordinary  forms 
of  argument. 

He,  therefore,  who  would  be  a  true  prophet  of  the 
age  must  take  this  characteristic  of  the  age  into  due  con- 
sideration. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said,  it 
still  remains  that  argumentation  has  its  uses,  and  that 
the  study  of  argument  should  by  no  means  be  omitted. 
It  is  only  that  we  cast  that  which  may  be  called  argument 
into  the  form  adapted  to  present  conditions,  and  employ 
it  for  those  purposes  to  which  it  is  properly  directed. 
The  argumentation  of  the  pulpit  to-day  should  follow 
more  closely  the  apostolic  example,  and  be  of  the  form 
which  is  best  indicated  by  the  English  word  "reason- 
ing," by  which  word  the  peculiar  term  of  the  New  Testa- 


330  THE  STUDY 

ment  is  translated.*  It  is  used  in  a  number  of  places 
in  the  New  Testament,  of  which  the  following  are  good 
examples:  "Paul,  as  his  custom  was,  went  in  unto  them, 
and  for  three  Sabbath  days  reasoned  with  them  from 
the  Scriptures,  opening  and  alleging  that  it  behooved 
the  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  again  from  the  dead: 
and  that  this  Jesus,  whom,  said  he,  I  proclaim  unto  you, 
is  the  Christ.  And  some  of  them  were  pursuaded." 
Acts  17:2-4.  It  appears  from  this  quotation  that  such 
was  the  custom  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  He  "reasoned" 
with  those  whom  he  addressed.  We  have  in  some  cases 
his  discourses  in  full  which  show  the  form  of  his  argu- 
ment. We  are  told  that  in  this  particular  case  he  rea- 
soned from  the  Scriptures,  explaining  them,  and  show- 
ing that  the  Christ,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  must 
suffer,  and  after  his  suffering  be  raised  again  from  the 
dead.  Such  was  the  teaching  of  the  Old  Testament  ful- 
filled in  Jesus  Christ,  whom  he  accordingly  proclaimed 
to  be  the  very  Christ.  It  will  be  seen  that  while  this  is 
of  the  form  of  argument  it  is  not  syllogistic  argument, 
but  argument  that  leans  to  instruction.  Again:  "Felix 
....  sent  for  Paul,  and  heard  him  concerning  the  faith 
in  Christ  Jesus.  And  as  he  reasoned  of  righteousness, 
and  self-control,  and  the  judgment  to  come,  Felix  was 
terrified."  Acts  24 :  24,  25.  In  this  case  Paul  was  en- 
gaged with  the  three  great  subjects  of  Christian  preach- 
ing inclusive  of  all  which  is  properly  proclaimed  from 
the  pulpit — ^the  justification  of  the  sinner  in  the  sight  of 
God ;  his  government  of  himself  and  his  strife  after  holi- 
ness ;  and  the  coming  judgment  of  all  men.  Paul's  method 
in  this  case  seems  to  have  been  similar  to  that  which  he 
adopted  in  the  former  one.     It  is  this  sort  of  reasoning 


•This  term  is  SiaAe'yo/iat — a  very  different  thing  from  <7vfijT«<«i,  which  is 
translated  "question " — with  angry  and  virulent  import. 


ARGUMENTATION  aai 

which  the  preacher  of  the  present  age  should  strive  to 
cultivate.  The  prophets  of  old  addressed  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple in  much  the  same  way.  When  Isaiah,  speaking  in 
tlie  name  of  God,  calls  upon  the  recreant  people  of  Israel, 
"Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  Jehovah," 
he  proceeds  very  much  as  the  Apostle  Paul  did  long 
after  him.  "Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall 
be  as  white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson, 
they  shall  be  as  wool."  The  Savior  Himself  argued  after 
very  much  -the  same  fashion,  but  there  was  reason  why 
His  preaching  should  have  been  more  emphatically  argu- 
mentative than  the  apostles'  who  preceded  Him  or  the 
apostles'  who  followed  Him.  His  unique  character  and 
His  manifest  purpose  brought  Him  into  conflict  with  the 
religious  teachers  of  the  day,  and  it  became  necessary  for 
Him  to  be  polemical.  We  may  observe  in  His  preach- 
ing a  large  number  of  examples  of  formal  argument, 
but  to  these  we  shall  refer  further  on.  Jesus  was  a  mas- 
ter of  dialetics :  His  arguments  were  correct  and  con- 
vincing, and  they  richly  repay  distinct  study. 

Let  us  proceed  to  note  some  particulars  with  regard 
to  argumentation. 

I.  What  are  the  uses  of  argument  ?  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  suitable  argumentation  is  no  more  or  other 
than  the  art  of  persuasion.  He  who  adopts  it,  particu- 
larly in  the  pulpit,  for  any  other  purpose,  has  misused 
it.  Dr.  Willis  G.  Craig,  among  the  many  aphorisms 
which  he  has  given  to  his  students,  has  said :  "The 
whole  object  of  debate  is  to  change  the  minority  into  the 
majority."  It  is  a  wise  and  weighty  remark,  and  should 
be  borne  in  mind  by  the  preacher.  It  is  similarly  ex- 
pressed in  the  opening  sentence  of  "Argumentation  and 
Debate;"  "The  problem  of  argumentation  is  to  make  use 
of  the  best  means  of  bringing  others  to  believe  or  to 


222  THE  STUDY 

act  as  we  wish  them  to  believe  or  act."  Consider  how 
much  such  a  principle  involves.  It  rules  out  of  argument 
everything  calculated  to  arouse  the  antagonism  of  the  op- 
ponent ;  everything  that  reflects  on  his  motives ;  every- 
thing that  ministers  to  pride  or  prejudice ;  everything 
that  is  associated  with  ridicule  and  sarcasm ;  everything 
that  looks  for  personal  victory  and  the  glory  of  con- 
quest. The  principle  confines  the  debater  to  those  argu- 
ments and  considerations  which  are  likely  to  please  and 
win  our  adversaries.  We  seek  for  votes.  As  O'Connell 
says,  "The  matter  of  primary  and  sole  importance  is 
the  verdict,"  so  that  St.  Augustine,  centuries  ago,  set 
forth  the  exact  qualities  of  suitable  pulpit  argumentation 
when  he  declared  that  it  should  be  "plain,  pleasing,  and 
persuasive."  The  preacher  must  "carry  his  point,"  and 
everything  which  he  can  bring  to  his  aid  that  will  make 
his  subject  the  more  engaging  should  be  employed  for 
the  purpose. 

The  uses  of  argumentation  generally  speaking  are 
three,  as  follows : 

1.  Its  most  important  use  is  to  strengthen  the  faith 
of  those  who  already  believe.  There  are  very  many  whose 
faith  is  of  such  a  character  that  they  cry  in  their  deepest 
souls,  if  not  in  the  hearing  of  others,  "Lord,  I  believe: 
help  thou  mine  unbelief."  Their  faith  is  oftentimes 
strengthened  by  the  form  of  argumentation  which  we 
have  counseled,  in  which  there  is  no  argument  at  all 
of  a  formal  character.  It  is  only  that  their  ignorance 
is  instructed,  reasons  are  given  for  the  positions  which 
they  ought  to  hold,  or  their  activities  are  stimulated,  so 
that  in  their  own  exertions  they  become  established  in 
the  faith. 

2.  Argumentation  'has  its  uses  in  the  convicting  and 
convincing  of  unbelievers.    But  the  unbelievers  who  are 


ARGUMENTATION  M3 

won  by  argument  of  a  formal  kind  are  not  generally 
those  who  are  decidedly  hostile  to  the  truth,  so  that  we 
do  not  mean  by  the  term  those  who  are  arrayed  against 
Christianity,  but  rather  those  who  yet  lack  the  decision 
to  accept  and  serve  the  Lord  Christ.  They  are  on  the 
border  line ;  they  are  "not  far  from  the  Kingdom  of  God." 
With  these  the  preacher  reasons  as  the  Apostle  Paul 
with  Felix.  It  will  be  well  for  any  one  who  is  interested 
in  this  matter  to  carefully  examine  the  sermons  of  the 
most  successful  revivalists.  Consider  the  form  which 
their  reasoning  takes,  and  the  methods  which  they  em- 
ploy to  bring  the  undecided  to  a  stand. 

3.  But  argumentation  has  a  third  use:  it  may  silence 
those  whom  it  may  not  convince.  The  Apostle  himself 
wrote  of  some  whom  even  he  was  unable  to  win,  "whose 
mouths  must  be  stopped."  This  process  requires  special 
skill,  but  skill  that  may  be  acquired  by  diligent  prepa- 
ration. 

A  missionary  upon  his  return  from  India  was  much 
annoyed  with  the  conversation  of  a  young  Englishman 
who  had  been  spending  some  months  in  the  country. 
He  improved  every  opportunity  to  cast  suspicion  upon 
the  missionaries'  work.  He  declared  that  he  did  not 
believe  that  the  Hindus  could  be  won  to  Christ,  and  that 
during  his  sojourn  in  the  country  he  had  not  seen  a  single 
native  Christian.  After  a  few  days  the  young  scoffer 
was  describing  his  experience  in  hunting  tigers,  and  en- 
tered into  a  minute  description  of  the  sport.  As  he  was 
concluding,  the  missionary  remarked  that  he  had  been 
in  India  for  many  years  and  had  never  seen  a  tiger ;  that 
he  doubted  the  young  man's  stories  and  did  not  believe 
that  there  were  any  tigers  in  the  land.  "Ah,"  the  young 
man  remarked,  "but  you,  sir,  never  went  where  the  tigers 
were."    "No,"  said  the  missionary,  "and  you  never  went 


234  THE  STUDY 

where  the  Christians  were."  The  missionary  had  bided 
his  time,  used  his  argument  at  the  proper  moment,  and 
silenced  the  young  skeptic  for  the  remainder  of  the 
voyage. 

For  such  uses  as  the  above  the  minister  may  properly 
employ  argument.  But  let  him  bear  in  mind  certain 
things  while  he  proceeds  with  the  work. 

( 1 )  Let  him  very  particularly  remember  that  the 
preacher  is  never  replied  to;  no  one  is  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  answer  him.  Therefore  he  must  be  absolutely 
fair  with  his  congregation :  he  must  use  no  argument  with 
others  that  he  would  not  like  to  have  used  with  himself  in 
a  similar  situation.  Let  him  remember  that  only  the  very 
best  reasons  should  be  employed  for  his  purpose ;  and  let 
him  remember  that  he  is  not  to  seek  his  own  victory,  but 
that  of  the  Master  whom  he  serves.  It  will  be  well 
therefore  for  him  ordinarily  to  plainly  state  his  own  posi- 
tion, or  the  proposition  which  he  proposes  to  discuss. 
There  is  probably  nothing  which  more  readily  defeats 
the  purpose  of  argument  than  the  appearance  of  in- 
direction or  trickery.  The  preacher  should  never  take 
his  audience  at  a  disadvantge  or  unawares.  He  should 
never  indulge  in  a  course  of  reasoning  whereby  they 
may  feel  that  they  have  been  trapped.  Moreover,  when 
the  preacher  has  freely  stated  his  position  at  the  outset, 
he  will  be  the  more  likely  to  proceed  carefully  with  a 
reasoning  that  is  wise  and  sound,  simply  because  he 
knows  that  his  congregation  is  aware  of  the  proposition 
which  he  proposes  to  publish.  His  honesty  will  disarm 
their  antagonism  and  allay  their  prejudices, 

(2)  The  first  and  chief  attention  in  argumentation 
must  be  given  to  definition.  A  definition  has  this  very 
special  importance — it  is  the  beginning  of  proof.  Often 
it  is  the  very  gist  of  explanation  and  argument.     Some- 


ARGUMENTATION  22^ 

times  it  removes  the  need  of  argument,  because  it  pre- 
vents ambiguity  and  consequent  confusion  and  misun- 
derstanding. 

But  it  must  be  a  true  definition — ^not  a  mere  "judg- 
ment." A  judgment  is  only  the  expression  of  some 
relation  which  one  term  bears  to  another  term.  "Hypoc- 
risy is  the  homage  which  vice  pays  to  virtue,"  is  a  Judg- 
ment.    It  does  not  definite  the  term  "hypocrisy." 

The  definition  must  be  acceptable  to  the  people  and 
not  to  the  preacher  alone.  And  the  definition  must  be 
simple  and  intelligible  and  not  run  into  abstractions  and 
subtleties  which  the  congregation  will  neither  appreciate 
nor  follow. 

(3)  The  next  matter  of  importance  is  modesty.  The 
preacher  must  not  indulge  in  too  many  superlatives.  He 
must  beware  of  extravagant  statements.  Let  him  adopt 
for  his  wares  the  rule  of  the  best  commercial  houses 
and  "not  price  his  goods  beyond  what  the  market  will 
bear."  Let  him  not  overstate  values,  or  claim  too  much 
for  any  argument  which  may  be  advanced.  And  let  him 
use  only  those  arguments  which  he  himself  can  handle; 
and  if  he  is  not  well  versed  in  certain  branches  of  learn- 
ing, to  which  greater  men  perhaps  than  he  have  given 
attention,  let  him  make  no  excursion  into  their  fields, 
nor  rely  upon  their  weapons.  And  let  him  be  prepared  for 
rigid  cross-examination.  None  may  be  had  at  the  time, 
but  he  may  find  after  he  has  left  the  pulpit,  and  fallen 
in  with  his  parishioners  by  the  way,  that  they  will  have 
questions  to  put  to  him  for  which  he  will  find  himself 
altogether  unprepared. 

II.  The  method  of  presentation. 

I.  When  argumentation  is  adopted  by  the  preacher, 
an  important  question  for  him  to  settle  is,  How  shall  it 
be  best  presented?     The  answer  is  found  where  it  has 


226  THE  STUDY 

usually  been  located  by  the  best  authorities  upon  this 
subject;  it  should  be  so  stated  as  to  throw  the  burden 
of  proof  upon  the  adversary.  This  term  "'the  burden  of 
proof"  refers  to  one's  obligation  of  proving  an  asser- 
tion. It  usually  falls  upon  him  who  affirms,  because  he 
who  makes  the  affirmation  is  bound  to  sustain  his  posi- 
tion. Until  that  appears  to  have  been  done  the  adversary 
has  nothing  to  do.  He  is  not  bound  to  disprove  a  mere 
assertion:  no  more  is  the  preacher  bound  to  disprove 
the  assertions  of  those  who  array  themselves  agamst 
Christianity.  This  is  not  because  the  burden  of  proof 
has  actually  been  shifted  from  him  who  affirms  the  truth 
of  Christianity;  but  because  the  duty  of  presenting  evi- 
dence has  fallen  upon  his  opponent.  The  evidences  of 
Christianity  are  so  many  and  so  convinving  that  their 
denial  must  be  upheld  by  evidences  of  equal  force  or  the 
cause  of  the  unbeliever  is  lost.  The  preacher  of  the 
truth  in  the  present  age  possesses  a  very  great  advantage 
who  clearly  apprehends  this  principle  and  acts  upon  it. 
There  are  very  many  to-day  who,  in  the  presence  of 
truth,  content  themselves  with  mere  denials,  or  challenge 
the  preacher  to  make  good  his  position.  They  virtually 
say  to  him,  "You  say  that  the  case  is  thus  and  so.  You 
declare  that  this  or  that  is  true.  Prove  it :  show  us  your 
illustrations  of  it.  By  what  arguments  do  you  uphold 
it?"  The  preacher  is  not  to  be  led  astray  by  any  such 
opposition,  and  unguardedly  attempt  to  do  a  work  to 
which  he  is  not  called.  The  great  preachers  whose 
words  are  contained  in  the  Scripture  are  fine  illustra- 
tions of  the  proper  method  to  be  pursued  by  the  preacher 
of  to-day.  The  prophets  did  not  undertake  to  defend 
Jehovah  against  the  many  who  arrayed  themselves  against 
him,  but  they  called  upon  those  who  departed  from  God 
to  make  good  their  position.     Listen,  for  example,  to 


ARGUMENTATION  227 

Isaiah  and  note  his  location  of  the  burden  of  proof.  "Pro- 
duce your  cause,  saith  Jehovah ;  bring  forth  your  strong 
reasons,  saith  the  King  of  Jacob.  I<et  them  bring  them 
forth,  and  declare  unto  us  what  shall  happen:  declare 
ye  the  former  things,  what  they  are,  that  we  may  con- 
sider them,  and  know  the  latter  end  of  them;  or  show 
us  things  to  come.  Declare  the  things  that  are  to  come 
hereafter,  that  we  may  know  that  ye  are  gods:  yea,  do 
good,  or  do  evil,  that  we  may  be  dismayed,  and  behold 
it  together."  And  upon  their  failure  to  make  good  their 
position,  Isaiah  continues,  "Behold,  ye  are  of  nothing, 
and  your  work  is  of  nought ;  an  abomination  is  he  that 
chooseth  you."  Note  also  the  method  of  Elijah  upon 
Mt.  Carmel,  in  the  deepest  decline  of  the  kingdom  of 
Israel.  He  said  that  the  prophets  of  Baal  were  many 
and  strongly  entrenched  in  the  ver}'  court  of  Ahab. 
Therefore  he  called  upon  them  to  justify  their  faith  and 
prove  the  power  of  their  god.  Elijah  said,  "Choose 
you  one  bullock  for  yourselves,  and  dress  it  first ;  for 
ye  are  many;  and  call  on  the  name  of  your  god."  He 
guarded  himself  against  any  possible  deception,  saying, 
"but  put  no  fire  under."  The  Savior  himself  was  given 
to  this  same  method.  He  frequently  cast  the  burden 
of  proof  upon  those  who  opposed  him.  "I  also  will  ask 
you  one  question."  "What  is  written  in  the  law?  How 
readest  thou?"  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?  Whose  son 
is  He?"  The  preacher  who  can  employ  such  a  method 
as  this  in  the  presentation  of  the  truth  will  exert  unusual 
power.  The  question  which  he  proposes  to  those  who 
hear  him  is.  Can  the  unbeliever  make  good? 

2.  Argumentation  is  properly  presented  by  setting 
due  value  upon  presumption.  This  term  is  used  in  three 
senses:  (i)  The  inclination  to  accept  a  proposition  be- 
fore it  is   argued;      (2)  Legal   presumption,   in   which 


228  THE  STUDY 

one  is  supposed  to  be  innocent  until  he  is  proved  guilty ; 
and  (3)  Preoccupation,  the  general  acceptance  of  a  posi- 
tion or  proposition  with  the  favorable  opinions  of  those 
who  have  considered  it.  The  presumption  which  we  con- 
sider is  that  inference  which  has  been  so  long  accepted 
that  it  rises  in  the  minds  of  its  adherents  to  the  level 
of  fact.  It  should  be  said  with  regard  to  this  that  pre- 
sumption does  not  lie  simply  with  age,  long  use,  or  gen- 
eral acceptance  upon  the  part  of  a  people,  as  many  sup- 
pose that  it  does.  It  is  no  sure  sign  that  anything  is 
good  and  desirable  because  men  have  for  ages  been  de- 
voted to  it.  If  such  were  the  case  then  Confucianism 
is  the  best  religion  for  the  Chinese.  And  so  also  with 
regard  to  many  hoary  superstitions  and  practices.  In 
the  preacher's  mind  age  and  character  must  go  together. 
He  can  make  use  of  the  principle  only  when  long  use 
has  been  attended  by  the  judgment  of  the  best  of  men 
and  has  contributed  to  the  best  of  ends.  When  there 
is  such  presumption,  it  is  solid  ground  upon  which  to 
rest  a  proposition.  A  long  established  custom  or  creed, 
however,  should  not  be  attacked  by  denying  its  virtues 
or  its  benefits.  If  such  appear,  they  should  be  recognized 
and  acknowledged,  and  it  should  be  shown,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  there  is  more  virtue  and  larger  benefits  in  that 
wherewith  we  should  displace  them.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  the  principle  of  the  burden  of  proof  and  the  principle 
of  presumption  act  upon  each  other  and  support  each 
other. 

III.  The  best  argument. 

We  do  not  consider  the  various  forms  of  argument 
which  may  be  employed  in  the  pulpit.  They  may  be 
readily  ascertained  by  one  who  desires  to  cultivate  the 
art  of  debate.  It  is  well,  however,  to  emphasize  the 
argument  from  testimony  as  generally  the  best  for  the 
preacher's  use. 


ARGUMENTATION  2*9 

Testimony  is  involved  in  every  other  form  of  argu- 
mentation. It  is  virtually  inseparable  from  it.  There 
can  be  no  proof  without  evidence. 

Testimony  is  witness  borne  to  a  fact.  The  religion 
of  Jesus  is  preeminently  a  religion  of  fact — historical  fact 
to  begin  with  and  after  that  the  fact  of  personal  experi- 
ence and  action. 

This  argument  is,  therefore,  more  frequently  em- 
ployed in  the  Scripture  than  any  other,  as  much  per- 
haps as  all  other  forms  of  argument  put  together,  both 
in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  New.  The  God  of 
the  Scripture  appeals  to  his  witnesses  and  calls  upon  them 
for  their  testimony.  The  Savior  himself  made  use  of 
this  argument  very  frequently.  He  appealed  to  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  to  the  witness 
which  his  Father  had  borne  concerning  Him,  to  the 
testimony  of  his  fore-runner  John  the  Baptist,  and  to  the 
report  of  His  own  disciples  concerning  his  words  and 
works.  When  John  the  Baptist  in  prison  sent  to  him 
to  enquire  whether  He  were  the  Christ  or  not,  he  relied 
entirely  upon  this  form  of  argument  in  his  answer,  and 
John's  own  disciples  were  to  report  to  John  the  events 
which  they  had  seen  and  heard.  Again  and  again  he 
told  his  apostles  that  they  were  to  be  his  witnesses  after 
his  resurrection,  and  again  and  again  do  they  refer  to 
themselves  as  such.  The  argument  from  testimony,  how- 
ever, has  much  more  value  in  our  own  day  than  in  any 
which  has  preceded  it.  It  is  not  only  satisfactory,  but 
it  is  in  the  highest  degree  cumulative.  Multitudes  of 
the  best  of  men  and  of  the  most  blessed  institutions  have 
contributed  to  it.  In  volume,  character  and  persistence 
it  is  unrivaled. 

Not  only  so,  but  in  the  affairs  of  our  common  life, 
in  business,  politics,  medicine,  and  law,  immense  impor- 
tance is  attached  to  this  form  of  argument.    The  entire 


230  THE  STUDY 

legal  profession  rests  upon  it,  and  for  this  reason  perhaps 
a  large  proportion  of  lawyers  are  believing  men.  Simon 
Greenleaf,  the  great  authority  upon  evidence,  has  writ- 
ten one  of  the  best  books  in  confirmation  of  the  Gospel 
story  to  be  found  in  the  English  language,  "The  Testi- 
mony of  the  Four  Evangelists  Examined  by  the  Rules 
of  Evidence  that  obtain  in  Law-Courts."  A  recent  work 
in  the  same  line,  also  by  a  distinguished  lawyer,  Frances 
J.  Lamb,  is  entitled  "Bible  Miracles  Examined  by  the 
Rules  of  Jurisprudence  as  administered  in  Courts  of 
Justice." 

But  the  argument  from  testimony  is  not  only  of 
great  value  in  itself,  it  is  also  a  very  great  support  to 
other  forms  of  argument.  For  example,  the  argument 
from  prophecy  relative  to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead  gains  Immense  force  when  it  is  corrobo- 
rated by  the  testimony  of  witnesses  with  regard  to  the 
fact. 

Still  more  the  preacher  himself  is  a  witness.  If  he  is 
not,  he  is  scarcely  entitled  to  preach.  He  can  and  must 
bear  freq*uent  testimony  to  the  work  of  grace  which  has 
been  wrought  in  his  own  soul.  James  Martineau  was 
a  frequent  attendant  upon  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Spur- 
geon,  and  when  he  was  asked  by  one  of  his  friends 
why  it  was  so,  "Because,"  as  his  friend  said  to  him,  "you 
do  not  believe  all  he  says,"  Martineau  answered,  "No, 
but  he  does."  And  so  it  should  be  with  every  preacher. 
And  still  further,  all  Christians  who  have  experienced 
the  grace  of  Christ  Jesus  are  themselves  witnesses,  and 
their  testimony  may  be  employed  by  the  preacher  in 
frequent  connections  with  great  power.  This  argument 
from  testimony,  therefore,  is  the  one  which  preachers 
may  be  counseled  to  use  the  most  persistently,  and  from 
it  they  may  expect  to  secure  the  largest  and  best  results. 


ARGUMENTATION  231 

IV.  The  order  of  the  presentation  of  arguments. 
Generally  in  preaching  the  strongest  argument  should 
be  the  first  presented,  and  because  the  strongest  argument 
is  always  the  Scriptural  argument,  it  should  be  given 
the  precedence  of  all  others. 

The  best  debaters  have  ever  been  not  those  who  re- 
served their  fire,  or  waited  for  an  undue  length  of  time 
to  hear  the  arguments  of  others,  but  who  occupied  the 
floor  as  soon  as  they  could  obtain  it,  who  put  forth  their 
strong  reason  at  the  opening  of  the  debate,  and  who 
kept  their  opponents  so  busy  answering  their  argu- 
ments and  defending  their  own  positions  against  attack 
that  the  arguments  of  these  opponents  could  secure  little 
place  and  have  but  little  weight. 

Take,  for  example,  such  a  subject  as  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  If  the  preacher  is  to  discourse  concerning 
it,  he  will  make  a  great  mistake  if  he  begins,  let  us  say, 
with  such  meagre  suggestions  of  a  resurrection  as  are 
to  be  found  in  the  natural  world, — the  revival  of  plants 
in  the  spring,  the  butterfly  emerging  from  the  cocoon, 
and  other  trivial  matters  of  the  like — then  proceeding 
perhaps  to  the  speculations  of  heathen  philosophers  and 
their  uncertain  groping  after  the  light;  then,  let  us  say, 
to  such  suggestions  as  may  be  found  in  other  religions 
or  concessions  contained  in  various  philosophic  writings ; 
then  perhaps  to  the  fore-shadowings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  its  incomplete  revelations  concerning  the  future 
life;  reaching  finally  the  declarations  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  resurrection  from  the  dead.  This  cer- 
tainly is  no  way  in  which  to  present  argument  from  the 
pulpit.  The  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  should  have 
the  very  first  place  in  the  discussion  of  this  subject.  The 
Savior's  teachings  with  regard  to  immortality  should 
precede  all  other  teaching  and  all  other  suggestion  what- 


23t  THE  STUDY 

soever,  and  very  little  need  be  added  if  this  has  once 
been  done. 

The  preacher  is  to  remember  what  we  'have  already 
noted,  that  in  sermonic  work  the  climax  is  not  ordinarily 
logical  but  rhetorical.  A  preacher  may  not  be  a  fine  logi- 
cian, but  he  may  have  and  should  try  to  form  a  sound 
judgment  with  regard  to  his  own  gifts  j^nd  powers  in  this 
respect.  His  arguments  may  not  be  syllogistic  in  char- 
acter, but  they  may  be  presented  with  such  sincerity, 
such  earnestness,  and  such  urgency  that  a  better  effect 
may  be  produced  than  if  he  had  given  himself  with  all 
diligence  to  the  forging  of  a  complete  chain  of  argument. 
Let  him  not  undertake  to  do  too  much.  Let  him  start 
from  common  ground.  Let  him  so  speak  that  the  most 
difficult  subjects  with  which  he  deals  shall  be  made  plain 
to  the  common  people,  and  let  him  appeal  with  all  con- 
fidence at  any  time  to  these  three  things :  the  Scriptures, 
the  human  conscience,  and  common  sense. 


ILLUSTRATION. 


ILLUSTRATION. 

Illustration  must  add  something  to  the  truth. 
It  is  not  for  purposes  of  mere  ornamentation. 
It  is  allied  to  argument. 

I.  Rules  for  use  of  illustration. 

1.  Positive  relation  between  the   illustration   and  the 

thought. 
The  growth  of  language. 

2.  The  point  of  resemblance  must  be  kept  prominent. 
Humor  in  the  pulpit. 

3.  It  should  not  be  prolonged. 

4.  Two  illustrations  should  seldom  be  used  at  once. 

5.  The  thought  must  be  prepared  for  the  illustration. 

6.  There  should  be  no  introduction. 

7.  Should  not  be  below  the  grade  of  the  subject. 

8.  Variety. 

II.  Some  sources  of  illustration. 

1.  Original. 

2.  Familiar. 

3.  Special  sources. 


Read   Bond's  "Master  Preacher,"  VI;    Freeman'*  "Use  of   lUuatration ;" 
JeflF'8  "  Art  of  Sermon  Illustration  ;"  "  Preachers  and  Preaching,"  VIII. 


XIV. 
ILLUSTRATION. 

The  term  "illustration"  includes  all  the  figurative 
ferns  of  speech.  There  is  sometimes  a  fine  illustration 
in  the  use  of  a  single  word,  and  the  study  of  this  one 
branch  of  the  subject  might  profitably  be  considered.  In- 
deed, it  should  be  considered  by  every  one  who  desires 
to  become  proficient  in  the  use  of  language.  We  shall 
employ  the  term,  however,  with  reference  only  to  those 
extended  illustrations  for  which  a  number  of  words  are 
required. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  define  the  term:  but  this 
should  be  said  with  regard  to  it,  that  illustration,  in  any 
proper  sense,  must  convey  more  truth  than  may  be  ex- 
pressed with  out  it.  An  illustration  should  add  some- 
what to  the  abstract  term.  Indeed  there  is  scarcely  use 
for  illustration  if  this  be  not  done.  But  whether  the 
addition  be  apparent  or  not,  the  illustration  must  at  the 
very  least  clarify  the  truth,  and  this  very  clarification 
is  in  a  sense  an  addition. 

The  principal  use,  therefore,  of  illustration  is  found 
in  this  addition.  An  illustration  is  not  to  be  used  for 
its  own  sake,  no  matter  how  fine  it  may  appear  in  itself, 
and  it  is  exceeding  doubtful  if  it  is  ever  to  be  used  for 
the  purpose  of  ornamentation.  This  is  contrary  to  the 
rules  of  some  rhetoricians,  w^ho  insist  that  ornamenta- 
tion is  a  very  proper  use  of  illustration.  We  quote  from 
a  recent  writer  upon  the  subject :    "It  is  sometimes  legit- 

3^5 


236  THE  STUDY 

imate  to  use  an  illustration  largely  for  the  sake  of  or- 
nament. The  preacher  thereby  introduces  a  bit  of  color 
on  a  surface  that  would  otherwise  be  too  much  of  a 
monotone."  But  this  is  scarcely  permissible.  The  proper 
use  of  illustration  for  the  sake  of  making  the  truth  more 
ample,  more  forcible,  or  more  clear,  gives  it  a  certain 
dignity  which  it  ought  to  possess,  but  which  it  will  not 
otherwise  possess.  More  than  this,  it  removes  illustra- 
tion out  of  the  domain  of  the  mere  story-teller.  Thought 
is  the  all  important  thing  in  every  form  of  discourse, 
and  the  preacher  can  not  afford  to  neglect  it  or  forsake 
it  at  any  point  in  his  sermon.  There  is  a  great  temptation 
here  to  those  who  are  gifted  in  anecdote  and  can  tell 
a  story  well,  but  the  preacher  must  be  careful  that  he 
is  not  beguiled  into  it.  The  book  from  which  we  have 
quoted  begins  with  the  following  sentences :  "  'Please 
tell  me  a  story,'  says  the  child.  And  the  child  is  father 
of  the  man.  It  is  a  common  remark  of  preachers  that 
nobody  listens  more  eagerly  to  the  children's  address, 
with  its  anecdotes,  than  the  grown-up  people."  The 
author  proceeds  to  say,  "the  books  that  are  most  cir- 
culated from  the  free  libraries  are  novels.  The  maga- 
zines tliat  circulate  the  most  are  story  magazines."  And 
he  refers  back  to  the  great  antiquity  of  the  custom  as 
found  in  the  Oriental  story-tellers  from  time  immemo- 
rial. We  believe  that  such  considerations  as  these  lead 
the  preacher  positively  astray. 

Dr.  Jefferson  says  very  truly  and  impressively,  "There 
are  two  kinds  of  preachers — men  of  thoughts  and  men 
of  thought.  The  man  of  thoughts  keeps  all  sorts  of 
books  of  illustrations,  drawers  filled  with  clippings  and 
envelopes  stuffed  with  bright  ideas,  and  when  the  time 
comes  for  the  making  of  the  sermon,  he  places  the 
thoughts  in  a  certain  sequence,  like  so  many  beads  on 


ILLUSTRATION  237 

a  string.  He  brings  his  beads  before  his  congregation, 
counts  them  over,  spends  thirty  minutes  in  doing  it  and 
the  people  go  home  thinking  they  have  been  listening 
to  a  sermon.  But  in  a  deep  sense  that  performance  is 
not  a  sermon  at  all.  Reciting  a  string  of  thoughts  is  not, 
strictly  speaking,  preaching.  Preaching  is  the  unfolding 
of  truth.  One  idea  is  sufficient  to  make  a  powerful  ser- 
mon. A  man  who  can  take  a  great  idea  and  by  sheer 
force  of  brain  unfold  it  until  it  glows  and  hangs  glorious 
before  the  eyes  of  men  and  so  burns  that  hard  hearts 
melt  and  consciences  awake  and  begin  to  tremble,  is  a 
preacher  indeed  and  actually  performs  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  But  the  little  dabbler  in  other  men's  thoughts 
who  fills  up  his  time  with  second-ihand  anecdotes  and 
stale  stories  and  tales  intended  to  make  people  cry  never 
gets  down  to  the  place  where  the  soul  lives  and  does 
not  know  either  the  preacher's  agony  or  his  reward." 

The  author  from  whom  we  quoted  above  seems,  in 
another  paragraph  to  reconsider  his  commendation  of 
the  story-teller  and  remarks :  ''Let  no  idle  reader  im- 
agine that  this  is  a  plea  for  anecdotal  preaching,  the 
stringing  together  of  ear-tickling  stories  for  their  own 
sake,"  and  yet  he  says  that  the  illustration  will  be  re- 
membered with  the  point  illustrated  for  years  perhaps, 
whereas  the  thoughtful  sermon  without  it  will  scarcely 
survive  the  following  week.  But  this  is  not  a  fair  com- 
parison. Illustrations  are  not  remembered  unless  they 
are  good  illustrations.  Good  illustrations  are  those 
wihich  are  associated  with  thoughtful  discourse.  The 
thought  survives.  The  illustration  certainly  helps  to  keep 
it  alive,  but  the  thought  and  the  illustration  act  each 
upon  the  other,  and  it  is  their  happy  combination  which 
promotes  their  continued  life  and  influence. 

Illustration  is   very  closely  allied   to  argument:   in- 


a3«  THE  STUDY 

deed,  it  often  Is  a  form  of  argument.  Argument  may 
sometimes  be  turned  into  illustration  by  a  single  change 
in  the  phraseology,  or  illustration  changed  into  argument 
by  'the  same  method.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the 
argument  from  analogy.  Recall  the  argument  of  the 
Savior,  "If  God  doth  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field, 
which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven, 
shall  he  not  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?" 
These  words  of  the  Savior  are  an  argument.  But  had 
He  said,  "God  will  certainly  clothe  you  because  you 
are  dependent  upon  Him.  Just  as  He  clothes  the  grass 
of  the  field,  though  it  flourishes  to-day  and  to-morrow 
is  consumed," — this  would  be  illustration. 

Illustration  is  not  really  proof,  but  it  often  has  the 
value  of  proof.  It  illuminates  the  argument  and  empha- 
sizes it,  and  if  it  be  what  it  should  be  it  carries  conviction 
with  it.  If  it  does  not  do  this  it  is  of  little  use,  and 
should  ordinarily  be  discarded. 

I.  Let  us  consider  some  of  the  rules  for  the  use  of 
illustration. 

I.  It  is  of  the  first  importance  that  there  be  positive 
relation  between  the  thought  and  the  illustration.  It 
should  be  something  more  than  mere  resemblance,  and 
we  are  sometimes  led  astray  because  there  is  resemblance 
and  nothing  more.  There  should  be  some  distinct  ratio 
in  the  thought  and  the  illustration  which  is  intended 
to  illuminate  it.  A  teacher  of  rhetoric  frequently  has 
occasion  to  point  out  to  his  students  the  lack  of  true 
resemblance  in  the  figures  of  speech  which  they  employ. 
There  should  be  a  positive  identity  in  the  thought  and 
the  illustration.  The  one  should  match  the  other  as 
the  casting  matches  the  mold.  It  is  only  that  the  thought 
is  conveyed  in  two  difl^erent  forms,  but  it  must  be  ex- 
actly the  same  thought  still.     In  the  one  form  it  may 


ILLUSTRATION  H9 

be  called  the  obverse  and  in  the  other  form  the  reverse. 
A  student  was  preparing  a  sermon  for  childem  on  the 
text,  "My  son,  if  sinners  entice  thee,  consent  thou  not," 
(Prov.  I :  lo.)  He  proposed  to  illustrate  by  a  rat-trap. 
But  his  teacher  pointed  out  to  him  that  there  was  no 
true  resemblance  between  a  good  man  trapping  vermin 
and  a  bad  man  catching  innocent  souls.  The  illustration 
was  abandoned. 

Very  little  may  be  lacking  in  order  to  complete  the  re- 
semblance yet  the  little  lack  is  sufficient  to  mar  the  il- 
lustration. In  this  case  the  thought  and  the  illustration 
may  be  brought  together  by  modifying  either  the  one 
or  the  other.  It  is  like  that  retouching  of  a  portrait 
which  suggests  the  countenance  that  it  is  intended  to 
represent  but  does  not  truly  reflect  it.  It  may  be  that 
the  addition  of  a  simple  line,  or  the  removal  of  a  certain 
shadow,  is  sufficient  to  so  modify  the  portrait  as  that  it 
shall  become  a  true  likeness. 

The  illustration  must  be  such  that  the  hearer  is  able 
to  recognize  the  relation  at  once.  If  it  becomes  necessary 
for  the  preacher  to  explain  it,  or  to  show  at  length 
wherein  it  applies,  the  illustration  should  never  have  been 
used  to  begin  with.  It  is  as  bad  to  explain  an  illustra- 
tion as  it  is  to  explain  a  joke.  The  rule  which  obtains 
in  art  that  the  true  picture  needs  no  title  ought  to  obtain 
also  in  rhetoric.  An  illustration  is  a  sort  of  picture: 
all  that  it  ever  ought  to  need  is  its  exhibition  in  order 
to  its  own  explanation. 

This  matter  of  true  resemblance  is  itself  illustrated 
in  the  very  origin  of  illustration.  In  the  dawn  of  civi- 
lization illustration  occupies  a  very  much  more  important 
position,  and  is  much  more  frequently  employed,  than 
subsequently.  Language  in  its  beginning  is  figurative. 
The  alphabets  of  the  most  primitive  nations  are  expressed 


240  THE  STUDY 

by  pictures:  the  words  are  composed  of  such  pictures, 
and  sentences  are  but  a  series  of  such  word  pictures 
added  together.  But  spiritual  truths  from  the  very  be- 
ginning have  required  very  much  more  illustration  than 
truths  of  any  other  character,  and,  therefore,  when  God 
began  to  teach  His  people  the  great  truths  concerning 
Himself  and  His  salvation  He  was  obliged  to  communi- 
cate His  ideas  in  connection  with  a  series  of  figures  of 
speech.  This  is  well  set  forth  in  Walker's  "Philosophy 
of  the  Plan  of  Salvation."  The  very  etymology  of  the 
Hebrew  which  was  chosen  by  the  Almighty  as  the  ve- 
hicle of  His  religion  is  a  very  interesting  study  in  this 
connection.  Originally  there  were  very  few  abstract 
terms  to  be  found  in  it,  and  even  now  those  which  are 
regarded  as  expressive  of  abstract  ideas  contain  a  figure 
by  means  of  which  they  may  be  traced  back  to  the  orig- 
inal object  whence  they  originated.  For  example,  the 
Hebrew  idea  of  p>ower  was  derived  from  the  horn  of  an 
animal,  and  so  it  came  about  that  after  a  time  the  very 
word  which  signified  "a  horn"  signified  also  "power." 
The  human  hand  was  also  used  as  an  illustration  of  the 
same  idea  because  it  was  through  the  hand  that  the  man 
exerted  his  strength,  so  that  in  the  Hebrew  the  words 
"hand"  and  "power"  are  often  interchangeable.  "The 
power  of  the  tongue"  reads  literally  "the  hand  of  the 
tongue."  Just  so  "sunshine"  in  Hebrew  is  synonj-mous 
with  "happiness."  The  idea  of  justice  or  judgment  is 
derived  from  the  word  which  means  "to  cut"  or  "divide," 
referring  back  to  the  division  of  the  spoil  among  those 
who  were  engaged  in  war  or  in  the  more  harmless  oc- 
cupation of  the  chase.  So  it  came  about  that  when  the 
Almighty  desired  to  convey  to  these  same  Hebrews  a 
sense  of  His  goodness,  His  purity,  and  His  will,  He  made 
use  of  terms  derived  from  the  material  world,  figurative 


ILLUSTRATION  241 

terms,  illustrations.  The  Jews  were  taught  purity  by 
means  of  outward  symbols,  washing,  and  bathing;  or  by 
means  of  their  discrimination  between  animals,  some  of 
which  were  imperfect  and  others  without  blemish.  Very 
much  of  the  Old  Testament  system  was  built  up  upon  this 
same  illustrative  method,  and  it  was  not  until  the  New 
Covenant  was  declared  that  the  full  meaning  of  the  illus- 
trations appears.  So  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Hebrews, 
referring  to  that  old  system  of  purification,  says  (9:  23), 
"It  was  necessary  therefore  that  the  copies  of  the  things 
in  the  heavens  should  be  cleansed  with  these:  but  the 
heavenly  things  themselves  with  better  sacrifices  than 
these.  For  Christ  entered  not  into  a  holy  place  made 
with  hands,  like  in  pattern  to  the  true ;  but  into  heaven 
itself,  now  to  appear  before  the  face  of  God  for  us." 
Indeed,  the  Savior  Himself,  after  introducing  the  New 
Covenant,  made  use  of  illustration  to  an  extent  and  with 
an  effect  in  which  He  has  never  been  equaled.  His 
illustrations  are  found  not  only  in  the  parables,  but  in 
those  figures  of  speech  which  we  find  upon  almost  every 
page  of  the  gospel  story.  In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
we  may  count  sixty-two  of  them.  The  list  of  His  word 
pictures  is  very  large ;  the  familiar  ones  will  be  recalled 
by  the  reader,  such  as  salt,  light,  bread,  treasure,  gates, 
trees,  harvests,  leaven,  keys,  tombs,  lightning,  winds, 
shepherds,  wheat,  vine,  sheep,  and  goats. 

The  preacher,  therefore,  who  would  employ  illustra- 
tion must  bear  such  things  as  the  above  in  mind.  He 
must  do  for  those  to  whom  he  ministers,  who  are  still 
uninstructed  in  heavenly  things,  very  much  the  same 
thing  which  the  Old  Testaments  prophets  did  for  their 
people,  and  which  Jesus  did  for  those  who  heard  Him. 
Oftentimes  the  truth  can  not  be  conveyed  to  the  mind 
without  an  illustration  in  which  there  is  thought  which 


342  THE  STUDY 

reflects  it.  The  story  is  told  of  a  missionary  to  Africa, 
who  had  spent  years  among  the  negroes  without  learn- 
ing the  word,  for  which  he  was  earnestly  seeking, 
whereby  the  relation  of  Jesus  Christ  to  men  might  be 
set  forth.  He  listened  to  every  conversation  with  anxious 
attention,  hoping  to  hear  the  word  which  he  had  not  yet 
heard'  but  which  he  believed  must  be  found  somewhere 
in  their  vocabulary.  Finally  upon  one  occasion,  when 
his  men  had  returned  from  a  lion  hunt  in  which  one  of 
them  had  been  attacked  by  the  beast  and  almost  slain, 
and  another  had  come  to  his  relief,  he  heard  that  wel- 
comed word.  He  sprang  to  his  feet :  he  called  upon  the 
man  again  to  speak  it.  Translated  into  English  it  was 
this,  "He  was  my  savior."  The  negro  up  to  this  time 
had  had  no  sense  of  the  relation  which  that  word  bore 
to  sacred  things,  but  the  very  word  itself  was  not  only 
transfigured  but  it  became  the  channel  through  which  the 
saving  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  was  more  distinctly 
communicated  to  his  mind ;  and  this,  as  the  missionary 
well  understood,  and  as  he  himself  came  to  understand, 
because  the  resemblance  was  distinctly  apprehended. 

2.  The  particular  point  of  resemblance  must  always 
be  kept  prominent.  This  is  more  important  when  the 
illustration  is  of  some  length.  It  must  not  be  obscured 
by  any  minor  detail,  nor  overlaid  with  any  sort  of  elab- 
oration. Just  here  many  go  astray.  They  think  that  it 
is  the  part  of  good  rhetoric  to  "work  up"  the  illustra- 
tion, to  polish  it,  to  overlay  it  with  fine  words  and  at- 
tractive phraseology.  They  remind  one  of  the  well- 
known  story  of  the  artist  who  painted  a  picture  of  the 
Last  Supper,  He  called  in  his  friends  for  their  criticism, 
and  the  first  to  speak  remarked  upon  the  wonderful  skill 
which  he  had  displayed  in  painting  the  cups  upon  the 
table.     At  once  the  artist  seized  his  brush  and  painted 


ILLUSTRATION  ,243 

out  those  cups.  He  declared  that  he  would  have  noth- 
ing in  his  picture  that  should  obscure  the  face  of  his 
Redeemer.  Following  the  same  line  there  is  that  in  art 
to  which  we  have  already  referred  which  is  called 
"values."  To  these  the  artist  gives  his  very  particular 
attention.  The  important  feature  in  the  picture  must  be 
given  the  most  value ;  otherwise  the  picture  is  a  failure. 
And  it  is  exactly  so  with  illustration.  The  point  of  re- 
semblance gives  it  all  its  value :  it  must  not  be  obscured. 
Sometimes  it  is  positively  forgotten  by  the  preacher.  It 
is  told  of  one  who  had  heard  a  very  affecting  story  of 
a  father  who  with  great  difficulty  had  rescued  his  son 
from  a  burning  house.  The  details  of  the  story  were 
of  the  most  interesting  and  pathetic  character,  and  the 
preacher,  feeling  that  it  was  a  fine  illustration,  deter- 
mined to  use  it  in  his  next  sermon.  He  did  use  it.  He 
told  the  story  with  a  great  deal  of  feeling,  but,  much  to 
his  surprise,  his  congregation  did  not  seem  to  be  moved 
by  it.  Worse  than  that,  he  observed  that  they  looked 
one  at  another  in  blank  surprise.  His  illustration  was 
for  some  strange  reason  a  failure ;  he  could  not  account 
for  it.  After  the  service  he  spoke  to  his  wife  about  it, 
and  asked  her  how  it  was  that  the  illustration  had  failed. 
She  said  to  him :  "You  told  the  story  with  a  great  deal 
of  feeling,  but  you  forgot  to  say  that  the  house  was  on 
fire." 

In  this  connection  a  word  ought  to  be  added  with 
regard  to  humorous  illustrations ;  because  sometimes  the 
preacher  has  such  a  mistaken  sense  of  the  dignity  of 
the  pulpit,  that  no  matter  how  fine  an  illustration  may 
be,  if  it  is  calculated  to  produce  a  smile  he  feels  that  he 
has  no  right  to  use  it.  Now,  while  that  preacher  is  very 
much  to  be  blamed  who  seeks  only  to  gratify  his  per- 
sonal pleasure  or  his  personal  vanity  by  the  use  of  humor 


244  THE  STUDY 

in  the  pulpit,  he  is  almost  equally  to  blame  to  whom  the 
Lord  has  given  wit,  but  who  fails  properly  to  employ  it. 
There  are  some  illustrations  of  very  great  force  and 
value  which  have  their  humorous  side.  They  are  not 
to  be  neglected  on  that  account.  There  are  touches  of 
humor  in  the  Bible  itself.  Paul  is  positively  witty  in 
some  of  his  expressions.  Garvie  well  remarks  with  re- 
gard to  the  matter,  "Humor  is  one  of  the  great  endow- 
ments of  man.  Not  a  few  preachers  would  be  saved 
from  absurdity  by  the  touch  of  humor.  Worse  things 
may  be  heard  in  a  church  than  a  laugh.  If  humor  is 
spontaneous  and  natural  to  a  man  it  must  be  carefully 
restrained  so  that  it  shall  not  detract  from  the  solemnity 
and  sanctity  of  the  message.  Humor  for  its  own  sake, 
or  to  advertize  the  preacher,  or  to  attract  hearers,  is  a 
grievous  offense.  But  the  humor  that  conveys  truth 
more  vividly  and  interprets  life  more  genially  need  not 
be  altogether  banished  from  preaching." 

The  connection  between  the  use  of  humor  and  the 
particular  matter  with  which  we  are  now  engaged  is  this, 
that  the  point  of  resemblance  is  often  made  the  more 
sharp  and  effective  thereby  than  it  could  be  made  in 
any  other  way.  Sam  Jones,  the  Georgian  evangelist, 
was  an  adept  in  its  use,  and  it  was  not  generally  any 
blemish  upon  his  preaching.  Speaking  of  those  whose 
emotions  form  too  conspicuous  an  element  in  their  re- 
ligion, he  told  of  a  little  steamboat  in  his  own  state, 
whose  wihistle  was  too  big  for  its  boiler.  It  could  not 
run  and  whistle  at  the  same  time,  so  that  when  the  en- 
gineer blew  the  whistle  the  paddle-wheels  ceased  to  re- 
volve. Such  illustrations  are  truly  powerful.  Their  very 
humor  helps  them  to  be  so.  Many  of  the  great  evan- 
gelists, who  are  most  intent  upon  leading  men  in  the 
way  of  salvation,  are  given  to  frequent  humor  in  the 


ILLUSTRATION  245 

pulpit.  Moody  often  raised  a  laugh  in  his  congregation ; 
so  did  Spurgeon ;  but  they  were  none  the  less  earnest  on 
that  account.  Those  who  attack  Christianity  in  public 
always  make  use  of  humor.  They  know  its  power  and 
use  it  with  great  effect.  With  them  it  often  degenerates 
into  ridicule,  which  has  no  proper  place  in  the  pulpit, 
and  to  which  the  preacher  should  never  be  given.  But 
the  defenders  of  the  gospel  certainly  ought  not  to  rele- 
gate a  faculty  of  such  immense  service  to  the  opponents 
of  Christianity.  Only,  if  it  be  employed,  it  should  al- 
ways be  with  dignity  and  with  good  taste,  and  it  should 
always  be  kept  subservient  to  the  highest  and  holiest 
purposes.  If  such  be  the  spirit  and  intention  of  the 
preacher,  he  may  not  hesitate  to  employ  a  humorous  illus- 
tration. It  will  prove  at  times  a  most  effective  method 
of  clarifying  the  truth,  or  of  conveying  its  lessons. 

3.  The  illustration  should  be  as  brief  as  possible  in 
justice  to  its  full  value.  It  must  not  outrun  its  use,  be- 
cause it  is  not  the  illustration  in  itself  which  is  the  val- 
uable thing,  but  the  truth  which  it  is  intended  to  illu- 
minate. The  danger  in  a  lengthy  illustration  is  that  it 
is  apt  to  engage  the  thought  of  the  people  for  itself,  and 
to  lead  them  away  from  the  truth  for  whose  sake  it  is 
introduced.  Sometimes  the  preacher  himself  becomes 
so  enamored  of  his  illustration  that  it  carries  him  away 
from  his  subject,  and  occasionally  he  even  forgets  the 
truth  with  which  he  was  engaged.  He  may  even  say 
to  his  congregation  something  of  this  sort,  "Let  me  see, 
what  was  it  that  I  was  talking  about?"  But  even  if  he 
does  not  say  so,  the  people  will  say  so  to  themselves. 
The  truth  must  permeate  the  illustration.  In  one  sense 
the  truth  must  irradiate  the  illustration  as  truly  as  the 
illustration  the  truth. 

Occasionally  the  preacher  exalts  his  illustrative  ma- 


246  THE  STUDY 

terial  so  that  it  forms  the  body  of  his  discourse.  Per- 
haps he  chooses  for  his  purpose  some  text  of  Scripture 
which  is  itself  figurative  in  expression.  He  makes  it  the 
business  of  his  sermon  to  expand  the  figure,  to  illustrate 
it  with  additional  figures,  to  look  at  it  from  all  sides  and 
in  all  relations ;  so  that  his  sermon  is  nothing  less  than 
an  extended  illustration.  This  ministers  weakness  to  his 
discourse.  It  is  very  seldom  productive  of  the  best  ef- 
fects. 

4.  For  the  same  reason  two  illustrations  sihould  sel- 
dom be  used  in  immediate  succession.  The  preacher 
should  ask  himself  why  he  desires  to  use  two  in  suc- 
cession. Is  the  first  illustration  somewhat  obscure,  in- 
complete? Then  it  were  better  not  to  use  it  at  all.  Are 
both  illustrations  so  fine  in  his  judgment  that  he  does 
not  think  he  can  aflford  to  part  with  either?  Then  it 
were  better  to  save  one  of  these  fine  illustrations  for 
some  other  occasion  and  some  other  subject  when  he 
will  be  in  need  of  it.  Is  he  intent  upon  the  rhetorical 
effect  which  he  supposes  may  be  produced  by  the  mul- 
tiplication of  his  figures?  He  may  indeed  succeed  in 
getting  it,  but  it  will  be  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  truth  itself. 
One  illustration  is  always  sufficient  for  any  single  point. 
If  it  is  a  good  illustration  the  preacher  will  not  only 
make  his  point  thereby,  but  he  will  run  no  risk  of  divert- 
ing the  attention  of  his  congregation. 

There  are,  however,  some  occasions  upon  which  two 
illustrations  may  be  used  in  very  close  proximity.  This 
is  when  two  aspects  of  the  truth  have  been  presented, 
each  aspect  requiring  special  illumination ;  but  even  in 
such  a  case  the  illustrations  will  be  better  if  separated 
by  a  sentence  or  two,  in  which  the  second  aspect  of  the 
thought  will  be  reiterated,  or  presented  in  special  form. 
We  frequently  find  in  the  Scripture  these  double  illus- 


ILLUSTRATION  247 

trations,  and  observe  the  reason  for  them  in  Ihc  connec- 
tion in  which  they  are  used.  For  example,  upon  the 
great  Day  of  Atonement  two  goats  were  employed  be- 
cause it  was  impossible  to  represent  the  whole  truth  of 
the  atonement  in  one  alone.  The  same  goat  could  not 
both  be  sacrificed  upon  the  altar  and  sent  away  into  the 
wilderness.  The  Savior  also  sometimes  employed  two 
or  more  parables  for  the  same  purpose,  as,  for  example, 
when  He  spake  the  parables  of  the  Lost  Sheep,  the  Lost 
piece  of  Money,  and  the  Prodigal  Son.  These  three 
parables  are  not  repetitions,  but  set  forth  three  entirely 
different  aspects  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  the  reclamation 
of  His  penitent  children. 

5.  The  thought  must  be  prepared  for  the  illustration 
as  carefully  as  the  illustration  is  prepared  for  the  thought. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  rules  which  may  be 
given  for  the  use  of  illustration.  In  its  observance,  in- 
deed, resides  the  very  art  of  illustrative  address.  The 
selection  of  a  suitable  illustration  is,  of  course,  the  first 
consideration,  but  once  the  illustration  has  been  selected 
it  must  be  so  used  as  that  its  correspondence  with  the 
thought  shall  be  absolutely  clear. 

It  is  just  here  that  very  many  fail  who  might  other- 
wise excel.  Their  minds  are  very  fertile  in  the  invention 
of  illustration.  Their  language  falls  into  figurative  form 
without  an  effort,  and  material  throngs  upon  their  mind, 
but  it  is  misused  only  because  it  is  not  well  fitted  to  the 
discussion  of  the  subject. 

This  is  the  chief  difficulty  in  the  use  of  such  illustra- 
tions as  are  furnished  ready  made  in  certain  books  and 
magazines  which  deal  with  the  subject.  The  illustra- 
tions are  given,  but  detached  from  any  thought  whatso- 
ever. The  authors  take  it  for  granted  that  those  who 
use  them  will  be  able  to  form  the  connection,  but  such 


248  THE  STUDY 

is  not  always  the  case.  Sometimes  the  preacher  does 
not  say  a  word  which  suggests  the  illustration  which  he 
is  about  to  employ.  He  makes  ready  for  its  coming  with 
no  care  and  with  no  deliberation,  and  when  it  comes  it 
does  not  fit  its  place.  It  has  no  place.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  very  language  of  the  thought  has  been  arranged 
with  reference  to  the  illustration  which  is  to  follow,  it 
becomes  its  very  matrix.  The  reason  for  its  use  is  at 
once  apparent,  and  the  truth  is  marvellously  emphasized 
and  clarified. 

Very  great  care  must  therefore  be  taken  with  the 
statement  which  is  preliminary  to  the  illustration,  with 
the  progress  of  the  thought  in  view  of  it,  and  with  pre- 
cise words  which  are  employed.  No  better  author  can 
be  studied  with  reference  to  this  particular  matter  than 
Watkinson.  Let  us  observe  an  example  taken  from  one 
of  his  sermons.  The  subject  of  this  sermon  is  "Revised 
Estimates:"  his  text  is  taken  from  Gen.  42:  ii,  "We  are 
true  men."  He  is  engaged  with  his  third  point  in  this 
sermon — "They  rested  in  their  present  goodness,  and 
forgot  their  past  wickedness,  declaring,  'We  are  no 
spies.' "  "They  were  right,"  says  Watkinson,  "in  that 
particular  matter,  but  what  of  the  past  ?"  As  the  preacher 
goes  on  to  enlarge  upon  this  he  quotes  the  words,  "God 
requireth  that  which  is  past,"  and  says:  "There  is  no 
statute  of  limitations  in  the  moral  universe;  and  however 
blameless  we  may  be  to-day,  the  past  clings  to  us,  con- 
demns us,  calls  for  blood.  We  shall  never  be  'true  men' 
until  purged  from  our  old  sins."  Now  he  is  about  to 
introduce  a  fine  illustration  from  the  life  of  Sir  William 
Herschel.  He  has  prepared  for  its  coming  in  the  words 
which  have  beeen  quoted  concerning  the  "statute  of  limi- 
tations," and  the  clinging  past.  He  proceeds  with  his 
story.     After  Herschel  had  constructed  his  large  tele- 


ILLUSTRATION  249 

scope  and  discovered  the  planet  Uranus,  he  was  directed 
to  appear  at  Windsor  so  that  George  III.  might  hear  of 
the  wonderful  discovery  from  the  lips  of  the  discoverer 
himself.  The  astronomer  came  at  the  time  appointed, 
bringing  with  him  his  telescope  and  a  map  of  the  solar 
S3'stem,  but  as  Watkinson  says,  the  last  thing  he  thought 
of  was  his  personal  delinquency.  Herschel,  while  a 
youth,  many  years  previously  deserted  from  the  army. 
The  fact  had  been  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
King,  and  when  the  astronomer  was  usliered  into  his 
presence  the  King  remarked  that  before  they  could  talk 
about  science  an  imperative  matter  of  business  must  be 
transacted.  "Whereupon  he  handed  to  the  astonished 
astronomer  a  paper,  written  by  the  royal  hand  and  bear- 
ing the  royal  signature,  pardoning  the  deserter.  The 
monarch's  instinct  was  correct;  the  royal  pardon  must 
cancel  the  old  sin,  and  enable  the  King  on  a  proper  foot- 
ing to  show  favor  to  the  quondam  offender." 

For  this  reason  it  is  apparent  that  there  can  be 
scarcely  an  exception  to  the  rule  that  the  thought  must 
precede  the  illustration,  and  that  no  illustration  may  be 
introduced  without  foregoing  thought.  Sometimes  the 
preacher  begins  his  sermon  with  an  illustration,  an  anec- 
dote, or  something  of  the  sort,  before  anything  has  been 
said  except  the  mere  quotation  of  the  text.  Those  who 
fall  into  such  a  habit  as  this  are  very  apt  to  exhibit  it 
frequently.  The  reason  for  it  is  this,  the  thought  lies 
in  their  own  minds  although  they  have  not  yet  given 
expression  to  it.  They  use  the  illustration  as  though 
they  had.  It  is,  therefore,  a  form  of  anticipation,  and 
a  very  vicious  form.  It  is  itself  a  signal  illustration  of 
"putting  the  cart  before  the  horse."  There  should  al- 
ways be  something  to  illustrate  before  the  illustration  is 
introduced.     State  the  thought;  cast  it  in  proper  form 


250  THE  STUDY 

for  the  illustration  that  is  to  follow ;  fit  the  illustration 
to  the  impression  of  the  thought  which  has  preceded  it; 
and  conclude  with  a  distinct  statement  of  its  particular 
application.  In  this  way  the  "ground  joint"  is  made 
which  provides  for  the  proper  flow  of  the  preacher's 
ideas. 

6.  Do  not  have  any  introduction  to  the  illustration ; 
do  not  talk  about  it  in  advance.  One  is  not  to  preface 
it  with  such  a  remark  as  this,  "Now,  I  am  about  to  use 
an  illustration  of  this  truth  which  is  derived  from  such 
and  such  a  quarter,  or  which  I  find  to  have  such  and 
such  a  use."  Do  nothing  of  this  sort.  Introduce  the 
illustration  in  its  proper  place — that  is  all. 

7.  Do  not  use  illustrations  which  are  below  the  grade 
of  the  subject.  A  dignified  thought  must  not  suffer 
from  the  vulgarity  of  the  illustration.  The  preacher 
must  not  suppose  that  when  he  passes  from  thought  to 
illustration  he  is  descending  to  a  lower  level  in  which 
he  may  permit  himself  certain  liberties  of  address,  in 
which  he  would  not  indulge  in  the  more  prosaic  portions 
of  his  sermon.  He  is  sometimes  disposed  to  be  alto- 
gether too  familiar  with  his  congregation  when  he  passes 
to  an  illustration ;  to  use  vulgarism  which  he  himself 
would  consider  otherwise  out  of  place ;  or  to  speak  of 
certain  experiences  by  way  of  illustration  to  which  he 
would  not  otherwise  refer.  It  is  true,  as  we  shall  pres- 
ently see,  that  illustrations  may  be  derived  from  very 
familiar  objects,  and  furnish  the  pulpit  with  its  best  ma- 
terial, but  because  these  illustrations  are  derived  from 
common  things  they  are  not  to  be  used  in  a  common 
way.  That  is  to  say,  as  Dean  Howe  has  well  expressed 
it,  that  the  preacher  must  always  "discriminate  between 
the  common  and  the  commonplace,  the  familiar  and  the 
vulgar,  and  not  render  the  sermon  insipid  by  the  meas- 


ILLUSTRATION  251 

ures  introduced  to  adorn  and  commend  it."  The  ele- 
vated thought  which  is  demanded  by  the  discussion  of 
spiritual  subjects  should  not  be  vitiated  in  any  way. 

8.  Seek  variety  in  illustrative  material.  The  preacher, 
when  once  this  rule  is  suggested  to  him,  may  recall  that 
most  of  his  illustrations  are  taken  from  some  one  par- 
ticular field :  it  may  be  science,  it  may  be  biography,  it 
may  even  be  personal  experience.  Joseph  Cook,  the 
great  Boston  lecturer,  although  he  was  singularly  gifted 
in  the  use  of  illustration,  yet  referred  to  Lady  Macbeth 
so  frequently  and  in  so  many  connections  that  he  wore 
his  illustration  pitiably  threadbare.  It  was  said  of  an- 
other preacher  of  considerable  prominence  that  every  ser- 
mon "took  him  to  China"  because  he  had  friends  who 
were  missionaries  in  China,  and  most  of  his  illustrations 
were  derived  from  missionary  fields.  The  preacher  who 
would  both  interest  and  instruct  his  congregation  must 
beware  of  this  fault,  and  select  his  illustrations  from 
various  sources. 

XL  We  now  consider  the  sources  of  illustration.  Be- 
fore passing  then  in  review,  a  word  should  be  said  with 
regard  to  that  point  in  sermon  construction  in  which  the, 
illustrations  may  be  expected  to  appear,  because  some- 
times the  preacher,  particularly  the  young  preacher,  seeks 
his  illustrations  when  his  sermon  is  but  begun.  He  may 
even  seek  them  so  soon  as  the  subject  itself  is  presented 
to  his  mind,  or  at  least  before  there  has  been  much  elab- 
oration of  it.  It  will  be  well  for  him,  however,  not  to 
consider  the  matter  of  illustration  at  all  until  his  sermon, 
or  at  least  its  separate  parts,  has  been  substantially 
finished.  Jeflfs,  in  his  book  upon  the  "Art  of  Sermon 
Illustration,"  remarks  that  "the  sermons  of  the  average 
preacher  will  be  bare  and  bald  of  illustration  unless  he 
has  had  his  text  ready  and  his  line  of  though  in  mind 


252  THE  STUDY 

for  a  reasonable  time."  He  refers  to  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  as  saying,  "that  he  had  many  sermons  in  various 
stages  of  preparation,  like  apples  ripening  in  a  drawer, 
and  he  never  preached  a  sermon  until  it  was  ripe."  So 
the  author  says,  "The  illustrations  do  not  appear,  as  a 
rule,  until  flhe  ripening  stage  has  arrived,  but  then  no 
preacher  ought  to  enter  the  pulpit  to  feed  the  congre- 
gation with  green  fruit.  He  will  be  always  on  the  look- 
out for  suitable  illustrations,  and  if  he  realizes  the  value 
of  the  imaginative  element  in  preaching,  and  subjects 
his  imagination  to  intensive  cultivation,  he  will  not  be 
likely  to  complain.  There  is  much  more  latent  imagina- 
tion in  the  average  preacher  than  he  himself  suspects." 
The  preacher,  therefore,  should  not  despair  because  illus- 
trations do  not  present  themselves  as  readily  or  as  quickly 
as  he  might  desire.  They  will  be  very  sure  to  come, 
even  to  the  most  prosaic  man,  who  subjects  his  thought 
to  the  ripening  process. 

I.  The  sources  from  which  illustrations  are  derived 
should  be  chiefly  original.  This  simply  means  that  the 
preacher  is  not  to  make  use  of  other  men's  illustrations, 
particularly  so  in  other  men's  ways.  Many  a  man  par- 
alyzes his  imagination  by  his  constant  dependence  upon 
the  imagination  of  others.  For  this  reason  such  works 
as  we  have  referred  to,  in  which  illustrations  are  fur- 
nished to  the  preacher  ready  made,  should  never  be  em- 
ployed by  him.     He  must  find  his  own  illustrations. 

How  is  this  to  be  done?  The  answer  is  very  sim- 
ple; it  has  already  been  foreshadowed  in  what  we  have 
said  upon  the  subject  of  originality.  He  is  to  provoke 
his  own  thought  by  dealing  with  subjects  which  are  out 
of  his  ordinary  line,  reading  books  which  do  not  strictly 
belong  to  his  own  profession,  talking  with  men  in  other 
pursuits,  and  the  like.     Indeed,  it  will  be  well  for  the 


ILLUSTRATION  353 

preacher  if  he  occasionally  does  something  else  than 
preach;  engages  in  work  other  than  that  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  distinctly  religious,  attends  the  gathering  of 
men  for  other  purposes  than  those  for  pure  worship. 
His  own  thought  must  be  enriched  and  stimulated  by 
very  novelty.  The  preacher  who  found  that  his  sermon 
last  Sunday  was  barren  of  illustration  may  do  nothing 
more  this  week  in  order  to  correct  the  matter  than  to 
read  some  fresh  book  or  magazine  article  upon  some 
recent  discovery  in  science,  or  upon  the  work  and  in- 
fluence of  some  distinguished  man  in  some  other  line  of 
work  than  his  own.  His  own  mind  will  be  an  abnormal 
one  if  original  illustrations  are  not  furnished  to  him  by 
some  such  method.  But  whether  his  illustrations  are 
wholly  original  or  not,  let  him  by  all  means  avoid  those 
illustrations  which  have  been  used  from  time  imme- 
morial, "frayed  lace"  as  someone  has  called  them — "The 
pebble  thrown  into  the  water,"  "The  boat  in  the  rapids 
of  Niagara,"  and  others  of  this  character. 

2.  Make  much  of  familiar  objects.  Do  not  derive 
illustrations  from  sources  with  which  the  congregation 
are  absolutely  unacquainted,  or  if  for  any  reason  there 
seems  to  be  a  special  call  for  them,  the  audience  must 
be  made  acquainted  with  the  subject  sufficiently  to  un- 
derstand the  illustration  when  it  is  introduced.  It  were 
better,  however,  to  follow  the  example  of  the  sacred 
writers,  particularly  of  the  Savior  Himself,  to  whose 
illustrations  we  have  already  referred. 

This  caution,  however,  must  be  observed  with  regard 
to  those  illustrations  which  are  derived  from  familiar 
things,  that  it  is  not  the  familiar  relation  of  such  things 
which  is  to  be  employed;  otherwise  the  illustration  will 
be  stale  and  uninteresting.  It  is  the  unfamiliar  relation 
in  the  familiar  object  which  gives  it  its  special  power. 


254  THE  STUDY 

So,  indeed,  it  was  with  the  Savior  Himself,  and  so  it 
has  been  with  all  masters  of  rhetoric  from  His  day  to 
this. 

3.  When  it  comes  to  the  particular  sources  from 
which  illustrations  are  to  be  derived  it  may  only  be  said 
that  they  are  too  numerous  to  be  catalogued.  The  Scrip- 
tures, of  course,  occupy  the  first  place.  Most  of  the 
preacher's  illustrations  should  be  derived  from  Scrip- 
ture. Then  there  are  science  and  history,  including  cur- 
rent events ;  and  literature,  including  poetry ;  and  art, 
pictorial,  architectural,  and  musical ;  and  best  of  all  per- 
haps the  preacher's  own  experience  and  observation. 

This  one  thing  should  receive  special  emphasis  in  con- 
cluding our  study  of  this  particular  subject.  All  the 
illustrations  which  are  contained  in  the  sermon  should 
be  related  to  its  general  scheme.  While  they  have  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  special  thought  with  which  they 
are  connected,  they  must  follow  in  the  line  of  the  domi- 
nating thought  or  principle  on  which  the  sermon  is  or- 
ganized. It  will  be  well  for  the  preacher  to  have  some- 
where in  the  course  of  his  sermon,  preferably  near  its 
conclusion,  one  comprehensive  illustration  which  shall  be 
the  whole  sermon  in  concrete.  Such  an  illustration  when 
found  is  a  blessed  discovery.  It  often  makes  the  sermon 
what  it  is.  Illustrations  have  often  been  likened  to  win- 
dows because  they  let  in  the  light.  But  the  leading  illus- 
tration of  the  sermon  should  be  something  more  than 
a  window.  It  should  have  an  outlook  not  merely  in  one 
direction.  The  light  which  enters  should  never  be  in 
danger  of  interception  by  a  passing  object,  and  more 
than  all  it  should  not  look  downward  or  merely  outward. 
The  leading  illustration  should  be  a  great  skylight,  open 
to  the  very  heavens  and  flooding  that  which  it  is  intended 
to  illuminate  in  its  every  part. 


IMAGINATION. 


IMAGINATION. 

Imagination  and  fancy. 

The  great  source  of  power  in  all  callings. 

I.  Imagination  and  illustration. 

1.  Invents  illustration. 

2.  Clothes  and  colors  it. 

3.  Gives  prosaic  material  illustrative  value. 

II.  The  operation  of  the  Imagination. 
"Stereoscopic"  views. 

Abstract  becomes  concrete. 
Historical  Imagination. 

III.  The  preacher's  greatest  power. 
The  realization  of  the  possible. 

IV.  The  cultivation  of  the  Imagination. 

1.  The  perceptions. 
Nature — Art. 

2.  Poetry. 


Read  Broadus,  Part  III,  Chap.  V;  Poe's  ^ssay  on  "The  Poetic  Principle; 
Crotber'a  "  Gentle  Reader,"  II. 


XV. 

IMAGINATION. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  imagination  in  the 
previous  chapter  as  an  aid  to  the  production  of  illustra- 
tion. The  subject,  however,  requires  separate  and  special 
treatment.  The  imagination  is  the  faculty  of  the  mind 
which  is  most  engaged  in  this  work,  and  it  is  to  the  imag- 
ination of  his  hearer  that  the  preacher  appeals. 

The  imagination  must  be  care  fully  distinguished  from 
the  fancy.  Both  belong  to  the  creative  power  of  the 
mind,  are  often  employed  for  the  same  purposes,  and 
their  exercise  produces  similar  results;  but  they  are  by 
no  means  the  same  faculty.  Imagination  is  more  pro- 
found and  more  logical.  Fancy  is  more  superficial  and 
more  capricious.  Yet  even  so  they  may  not  ordinarily 
be  distinguished.  For  homiletical  purposes  it  may  be 
well  to  state  the  difference  in  the  following  terms :  Fancy 
creates  its  own  material ;  the  imagination  deals  with  ma- 
terial which  is  furnished  to  it.  The  material  upon  which 
the  fancy  works  is  unreal ;  that  upon  which  the  imagina- 
tion works  is  real.  The  imagination  adopts  this  material, 
sets  it  in  new  and  brighter  light,  multiplies  its  relations 
and  suggestions,  and  so  substantially  changes  its  very 
structure.  As  the  word  itself  implies  it  is  the  image- 
making  faculty.  It  produces  a  picture  of  that  which 
may  be  in  concrete  form.  It  is  therefore  the  great  source # 
of  power  to  men  in  all  the  walks  of  life.  The  inventor 
and  the  discoverer  are  particularly  indebted  to  it,  and 

357 


358  THE  STUDY 

to  some  extent  all  who  become  successful  in  their  avoca- 
tions— ^the  statesman,  the  merchant,  the  artist,  and  the 
soldier.  Napoleon  Bonaparte  possessed  a  more  vivid 
imagination  than  any  man  in  Europe,  and  through  it 
often  inspired  his  soldiers  to  deeds  of  utmost  valor,  as, 
for  example,  at  the  Battle  of  the  Pyramids,  v^^hen  he 
exclaimed,  "Soldiers,  from  yonder  heights  forty  cen- 
turies look  down  upon  you !" 

I.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  how  intimately  the  imag- 
ination is  connected  with  the  production  of  striking  and 
useful  illustrations.  It  is,  indeed,  of  the  very  essence 
of  illustration.  This  may  be  shown  in  three  different 
ways. 

1.  It  often  invents  illustration,  in  case  there  is  none 
forthcoming  from  any  other  quarter.  This  is  a  form  of 
fiction,  but  its  use  is  entirely  legitimate  within  certain 
bounds.  The  Savior  HimEelf  frequently  employed  it. 
His  parables  were  all  of  them  works  of  fiction,  and  the 
imagination  may  do  for  the  preacher,  in  a  limited  way, 
what  it  did  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  a  supreme  way, 
as  when  he  introduces  an  illustration  with  the  remark, 
"Let  us  now  suppose"  or  something  of  the  kind. 

2.  The  imagination  clothes  the  prosaic  with  brilliant 
colors.  Indeed,  it  bears  the  same  relation  to  thought 
which  color  bears  to  monotone  in  pictorial  art.  The  pic- 
ture may  be  the  same  in  form  and  structure,  and  yet  it 
is  transformed  into  a  new  thing  by  the  colors  which  the 
painter  employs.  The  colorist  may  not  be  a  good  drafts- 
man, in  which  case  his  work  will  not  be  specially  effect- 
ive, but  when  the  drawing  is  good  the  coloring  is  a 
mighty  help  to  it.     So  it  is  with  the  imagination.     The 

•most  prosaic  thought  may  be  set  forth  in  language  which 
renders  it  much  more  attractive  and  adds  greatly  to  its 
beauty  and  its  power. 


IMAGINATION  259 

3,  Even  when  this  is  not  done,  the  imagination  may 
invest  the  material  with  a  character  which  serves  all  the 
purpose  of  illustration.  There  may  be  nothing  added  to 
it  in  the  way  of  color,  so  to  speak,  but  it  is  set  in  a  better 
light;  it  is  held  before  the  mind  of  the  hearer  in  various 
positions;  it  is  turned  this  way  and  that,  as  the  jeweler 
turns  the  precious  gem  that  its  facets  may  catch  the 
light  from  all  directions  and  reflect  its  dazzling  beauty. 
It  elaborates  details,  it  uses  points,  resemblances,  and 
relations  which  would  be  lost  to  view  without  its  aid. 

The  imagination,  therefore,  is  of  great  importance  to 
the  preacher  if  it  be  properly  held  in  check.  The  rule 
which  he  must  constantly  observe  is  this — keep  within 
the  limit  of  fact.  Do  not  permit  the  imagination  to  run 
beyond  the  real.  That  which  the  imagination  uses  or 
presents  must  be  at  least  the  possible.  It  must  never 
seem  to  the  hearer  that  that  preacher  has  gone  beyond 
such  limits  and  introduced  that  for  which  his  material 
furnished  him  no  warrant.  It  is  not  at  all  unusual  for 
a  preacher  to  import  into  Bible  scenes  description  or  nar- 
ration which  is  absolutely  fanciful.  There  is  not  the 
least  warrant  for  his  additions.  Therefore,  however 
graphic  they  may  be  they  are  simply  playing  false  with 
Scripture.  The  imagination  should  never  be  suffered  to 
enter  the  realm  of  the  improbable,  otherwise  the  preacher 
will  be  led  into  vain  and  foolish  speculation,  possibly 
into  fanaticism. 

II.  How  does  the  imagination  actually  operate?  The 
simplest  form  in  which  to  express  its  operation  is  this, 
it  transforms  the  abstract  into  the  concrete.  The  ab- 
stract still  remains,  the  concrete  is  the  clothing  or  the 
coloring.  Broadus,  in  attempting  to  set  forth  this  idea,, 
uses  the  word  "stereoscopic,"  a  word  very  happily  chosen 
to  express  his  idea,  but  he  fails  to  note  that  the  stereo- 


26o  THE  STUDY 

scopic  requires  two  view-points.  Two  photographs  taken 
from  exactly  the  same  place  and  laid  side  by  side,  al- 
though they  may  be  viewed  through  the  proper  glass, 
will  be  as  flat  as  either  single  picture  of  the  composite. 
A  stereoscopic  view  becomes  what  it  is  because  it  simu- 
lates the  vision  which  is  obtained  through  the  two  eyes. 
The  lenses  are  placed  some  distance  apart.  So  in  illus- 
tration. The  abstract  is  the  one  view-point,  the  con- 
crete is  the  other  view-point,  the  stereoscopic  effect  is 
tihe  result. 

Many  examples  might  be  given  of  this  operation  of 
the  imagination  from  the  best  literature.  Nothing  can 
be  better,  however,  than  the  language  of  the  Savior  Him- 
self. If  we  confine  ourselves  to  His  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  we  shall  find  a  number  of  examples.  This  sermon 
abounds  in  illustrative  material.  Dr.  Bond,  in  his  "Mas- 
ter Preacher,"  has  well  spoken  of  the  power  of  the  imag- 
ination as  exhibited  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  says :  "It  was 
highly  sensitized  and  developed.  His  imagination  was 
dramatic  in  its  concepts  and  manifestations.  The  dra- 
matic moment,  when  the  interest  of  the  occasion  culmi- 
nated, never  failed  to  appear  to  Him.  He  saw  the  mul- 
titude as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  When  the  seventy 
brought  to  Him  the  glad  report  of  their  successful  mis- 
sion, even  the  demons  being  subject  to  their  commands, 
Jesus  said  unto  them  'I  beheld  Satan  fallen  as  lightning 
from  heaven.'  This  was  the  gift  of  His  grand  imagina- 
tion. It  was  also  pictorial.  With  Jesus  this  quality  was 
more  than  ordinarily  pronounced  and  cultivated.  His 
imagination  was  eminently  practical.  He  could  gather 
up  the  images  of  the  everyday  commonplaces  because 
He  saw  how  to  transfuse  and  transform  them."  Turn- 
ing then  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  observe  how  par- 
ticularly rich  it  is  in  these  imaginative  expressions.    "Ye 


IMAGINATION  261 

arc  the  salt  of  the  earth,"  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world."  "Where  thy  treasure  is,  there  will  thy  heart  be 
also."  "The  lamp  of  the  body  is  the  eye."  "Enter  ye 
in  by  the  narrow  gate."  "Beware  of  false  prophets,  who 
come  to  you  in  sheep's  clothing."  And  yet  in  the  same 
sermon  the  Savior-uttered  many  truths  in  abstract  which 
His  imagination  immediately  translated  into  the  concrete. 
We  place  a  few  of  them  in  parallel  columns  that  they 
may  be  carefully  observed,  and  their  relation  to  the  par- 
ticular subject  noted. 

"  Resist  not  him  that  is  evil."         "Whosoever    smiteth    thee   on 

thy  right  cheek,  turn  to  him 
the  other  also." 

"Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your      "Sound   not  a  trumpet  before 
righteousness  before  men,  to  thee." 

be  seen  of  them." 

"Be  not  anxious  for  your  life,      "Behold    the    birds    of    the 
what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye         heaven," 

shall  drink,"  etc.  "Consider    the     lilies     of    the 

field." 

"Judge    not,    that    ye   be    not     "Why  beholdest  thou  the  mote 
judged."  that  is  in  thy  brother's   eye, 

etc. 

This  particular  operation  of  the  imagination  whereby 
the  abstract  is  transfigured  into  the  concrete  is  particu- 
larly useful  in  realizing  and  depicting  the  scenes  of  the 
Bible.  This  is  because  the  Bible  is  an  Oriental  book 
written  in  ancient  times.  Customs  have  not  only  changed 
in  the  course  of  the  centuries,  but  the  customs  of  the 
East  are  very  different  from  our  own.  How  much  there 
is  in  the  Bible  which  can  not  be  made  plain  to  the  reader 
or  hearer  of  the  gospel  to-day  but  by  the  aid  of  the  imag- 
ination— 'tents,  turbans,  camels,  caravans,  and  much  else 
of  the  same  character,  Roman  arms,  Greek  games,  and 


262  THE  STUDY 

the  like,   and   in  addition   to  these  physical  things   the 
forms  of  speech  that  are  associated  with  them. 

Therefore,  the  first  thing  for  the  preacher  to  cultivate 
in  this  line  is  a  historical  imagination.  In  a  certain  sense 
he  must  transport  himself  to  the  time  and  place  in  which 
the  words  were  spoken.  He  must  realize  the  condition 
of  the  man  who  spoke  them,  and  of  those  whom  he  ad- 
dressed. He  must  live  with  Moses  in  Egypt  in  the  days 
of  the  Pharoahs.  He  must  be  saturated  with  the  spirit 
of  the  great  temples,  sphinxes,  pyramids.  He  must  travel 
with  the  Israelites  through  the  wilderness  of  Sinai.  He 
must  be  awed  by  the  tremendous  heights  that  hang  over 
the  valleys  through  which  the  little  streams  are  flowing 
that  bring  fertility  and  beauty.  He  must  walk  with  the 
prophets  through  the  land  of  Canaan  from  the  time  of 
Abraham  to  the  time  of  Christ.  He  must  know  some- 
thing of  the  great  armies  that  swept  over  it,  the  famines 
that  afflicted  it,  the  vineyards  with  which  its  hills  were 
adorned,  and  the  flocks  that  were  shepherded  in  its  pas- 
tures. He  must  travel  with  the  Apostle  Paul  in  the  Ro- 
man days,  know  something  of  the  Greek  civilization 
which  he  encountered  and  the  Roman  laws  to  which  he 
was  subject.  Very  much  of  Bible  history  is  nothing  but 
an  outline,  and  he  must  fill  it  up  by  such  knowledge  as 
he  may  acquire  from  sources  outside  the  Bible,  and  for 
which  his  imagination  will  prepare  an  embellishment  ^n^ 
and  an  addition.  If  he  deals  with  the  mere  language  of 
historical  Scripture  and  does  no  more,  his  preaching  will 
be  prosaic,  literal,  formal,  lifeless.  Take,  for  example, 
the  miracle  of  the  Feeding  of  the  Five  Thousand.  It 
was  at  Bethsaida.  The  Savior  instructed  His  apostles 
to  have  the  multitude  sit  down:  He  then  blessed  the 
bread  and  multiplied  it  for  their  use.  But  let  the  imag- 
ination run:  picture  the  scene.     It  is  not  necessary  to 


IMAGINATION  263 

go  outside  the  sacred  story  in  order  to  find  material,  for 
one  of  the  evangelists  tells  us  that  the  multitude  was 
made  to  sit  down  upon  the  green  grass,  and  another 
says  that  there  was  much  grass  in  the  place.  The  Sav- 
ior made  a  happy  choice,  therefore,  of  the  location  in 
which  His  miracle  was  to  be  performed.  As  old  Mat- 
thew Henry  says:  "He  had  respect  to  the  furniture  of 
his  dining-room."  That  is  imaginative !  But  Mark  also 
informs  us  that  they  reclined  by  companies  upon  the 
green  grass,  and  the  word  for  company  is  literally  a 
"flower-bed."  If  the  preacher  has  it  in  mind  and  re- 
members the  soft  and  beautiful  coloring  of  the  fabrics 
of  the  East — scarf,  burnoose,  and  girdle — and  can  de- 
scribe these  people  in  their  picturesque  garb  gathered  in 
their  little  circles,  he  may  furnish  to  his  congregation  an 
idea  of  the  scene  which  will  be  beautiful  and  helpful  be- 
yond measure.     Flower-beds  in  the  green  grass ! 

Take  another  example,  the  visit  of  Nicodemus  to  the 
Savior  at  Bethany :  the  close  of  the  conference.  Is  there 
nothing  more  to  be  said  about  it  than  that  the  Savior  con- 
cluded His  discourse  and  Nicodemus  departed?  The 
closing  words  are  as  follows :  "He  that  doeth  the  truth 
conieth  to  the  light,  that  his  works  may  be  made  mani- 
fest, that  they  have  been  wrought  in  God."  No  doubt 
it  was  the  house  of  Martha.  Why  tiot  imagine  the  Sav- 
ior as  escorting  Nicodemus  to  the  door?  Why  not  pic- 
ture Him  as  taking  the  Jewish  ruler  by  the  hand,  and 
under  the  starlit  dome  making  a  courteous  but  emphatic 
reference  to  his  coming  by  night,  and  dismissing  him 
with  the  suggestion  that  he  come  by  day  upon  his  next 
visit?  "Good-bye,  Nicodemus,  but  remember  he  that 
doeth  the  truth  cometh  to  the  light.  Good-bye,  Nicode- 
mus," and  the  ruler  disappears  into  the  darkness. 

It  is  this  realization  of  that  which  is  associated  with 


264  THE  STUDY 

the  Bible  history,  that  which  is  conitained  in  the  original 
meaning  of  its  words,  that  which  is  suggested  by  its 
situation,  that  gives  the  preacher  a  peculiar  power  with 
those  to  whom  he  preaches. 

But  this  historical  imagination  has  its  use  in  depict- 
ing the  scenes  of  the  future  as  well  as  of  the  past:  the 
future  on  earth  when  the  gospel  shall  have  won  its  way 
among  aiU  nations  and  every  knee  shall  bow  to  Christ: 
the  future  in  the  heavenly  state,  the  eternal  city  with 
its  golden  streets,  and  its  trees  of  life,  and  its  pearly 
gates — each  separate  one  a  single,  glowing  monolith ! 

III.  The  greatest  power  that  the  preacher  can  ever 
possess  or  ever  use  is  derived  from  his  realization  of  the 
possible;  not  the  mere  realization  of  the  probable,  for 
•that  may  be  achieved  by  the  ordinary  mind ;  but  the  reali- 
zation of  the  possible,  that  which  many  perhaps  esteem 
\  impossible,  that  which  is  to  be  achieved  through  much 
•toil  and  many  sacrifices,  and  bitter  tears  and  the  surren- 
der of  precious  lives.  But  the  preacher  who  can  foresee 
the  coming  of  that  which  can  not  come  except  in  such 
a  way,  and  by  the  gracious  and  multiplied  blessing  of 
Almighty  God,  will  inspire  his  people  to  action,  and  min- 
ister to  their  faith,  and  confirm  their  hope  as  the  unimag- 
inative preacher  will  never  be  able  to  do. 

This  hope  of  attaining  the  possible  has  sometimes 
been  called  a  "castle  in  Spain."  Verily,  it  is  a  good 
thing  for  the  preacher  to  have.  Paul  had  his  "castle  in 
Spain."  Had  it  not  been  so  he  would  not  have  been  the 
successful  preacher  that  he  was.  He  was  intent  on 
preaching  the  gospel  not  only  to  those  who  lived  in 
countries  contiguous  to  Jerusalem,  but  those  who  were 
distant  and  ignorant.  After  he  had  preached  from  Jeru- 
salem and  round  about  even  unto  Illyricum,  he  still  de- 
clared that     it  was  his  aim  to  preach  the  gospel  where 


IMAGINATION  265 

Christ  was  not  already  named,  and  not  to  build  upon 
another  man's  foundation,  "but  as  it  is  written,  They  shall 
see,  to  whom  no  tidings  of  Him  came,  and  they  who  have 
not  heard  shall  understand."  Paul  ended  his  career  at 
Rome,  but  if  he  had  not  had  his  castle  in  Spain  he  might 
never  have  been  brought  even  so  far  as  Rome.  In  writ- 
ing to  the  Church  at  that  place  he  indicated  to  them 
that  even  the  Imperial  City  was,  in  his  mind,  only  a  way- 
station  on  the  road  to  Spain.  He  said,  "Whensoever  I 
go  unto  Spain  ....  I  hope  to  see  you  in  my  journey." 
and  again  he  said  that  after  he  had  gone  to  Jerusalem 
to  carry  the  contribution  for  its  poor,  he  would  return 
again  and  "I  will  go  on  by  you  unto  Spain."  He  was 
not  to  be  satisfied  until  he  had  reached  the  ultima  thule. 
He  was  "going  by  them"  to  the  end  of  the  earth! 

In  this  sense  the  preacher  is  a  seer,  as  we  have  indi- 
cated, and  it  is  only  when  one  has  such  an  imagination 
as  Paul's,  or  as  that  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself, 
that  he  will  project  great  enterprises  for  which,  though 
small  and  unpromising  in  their  beginnings,  he  sees  a 
blessed  growth  and  a  glorious  outcome. 

IV.  How  then  may  the  imagination  be  cultivated  ? 

I.  First  of  all  through  the  perceptions.  We  must 
learn  to  see,  to  hear,  to  feel.  We  must  learn  to  see  in 
things  physical  that  which  is  hidden  to  the  ordinary  eye, 
to  hear  in  audible  sounds  a  music  that  does  not  enter  the 
dull  ears.  Like  Michael  Angelo,  before  his  uncut  marble, 
we  must  say,  "There  is  an  angel  in  that  block  of  stone." 
Every  preacher,  indeed,  should  be  to  some  extent  a  stu- 
dent of  art.  He  should  be  fond  of  pictures  and  he  should 
know  how  to  judge  a  picture.  He  should  visit  art  gal- 
leries, and,  if  possible,  try  to  do  some  artistic  work  him- 
self, because  art  is  simply  a  representation  of  the  unseen 
in  the  visible.    A  teacher  of  art  once  had  a  student  who 


266  THE  STUDY 

gave  unusual  promise,  but  who  had  been  engaged  only 
with  such  study  as  could  be  taken  up  in  the  artist's  studio 
in  the  city.  He  found  it  impossible  to  make  his  pupil 
believe  that  there  were  certain  colors  and  forms  in  na- 
ture. His  admonitions  with  regard  to  such  matters,  and 
his  corrections  of  imperfect  work  were  received  with 
considerable  suspicion  and  incredulity.  But  the  summer 
came ;  the  pupil  was  taken  with  the  master  into  the  woods, 
among  the  hilils,  beside  the  waters,  and  was  taught  to 
see.  It  was  enough,  and  if  the  education  of  the  imagina- 
tion proceeds  no  further  than  this,  it  goes  a  long  ways. 
Let  the  preacher  live  close  to  nature  and  seek  every  oc- 
casion to  learn  its  higher  ministry.  Those  who  have 
done  so  have  universally  been  imaginative.  "The  chil- 
dren of  nature,"  as  we  call  them,  are  peculiarl}^  gifted  in 
this  respect — the  Indians  and  the  Arabs  for  example. 
And  it  was  because  the  authors  of  the  Bible  lived  so 
close  to  nature  that  the  Bible  itself  has  in  it  so  much 
that  ministers  to  the  imagination.  Take,  for  example, 
the  description  of  a  thunderstorm  which  is  found  in  the 
29th  Psalm.  Read  it,  study  it,  learn  something  from  it. 
The  cloud  rises  out  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  "The 
voice  of  Jehovah  is  upon  the  waters."  It  passes  over 
the  mountains,  "Jehovah  breaketh  in  pieces  the  cedars 
of  Lebanon."  It  moves  off  into  the  Eastern  desert,  "The 
voice  of  Jehovah  shaketh  the  wilderness."  The  calm 
succeeds  the  storm,  "Jehovah  will  bless  His  people  with 
peace." 

The  perceptions  are  cultivated  by  a  number  of  studies 
which  whet  the  imagination,  particularly  those  that  deal 
with  distant  things  or  ancient  things,  and  which  can  not 
be  mastered  without  the  aid  of  the  imagination — ^astron- 
omy, for  example,  geology,  and  others. 

2.  Imagination  may  be  cultivated   by  the   study   of 


IMAGINATIOK  3fi7 

suitable  literature — poetry  first  of  all,  because  poetry,  if 
it  be  true  poetry,  is  the  product  of  the  imagination.  It 
can  not  be  defined.  Every  attempt  to  do  so  has  been 
a  failure,  but  we  all  know  what  is  meant  by  true  poetry. 
The  poetry  of  the  Scripture  is  particularly  rich  in  its 
imaginative  features.  Consider  the  23rd  Psalm.  How 
much  is  expressed  by  the  author  which  would  have  been 
lacking  in  a  prosaic,  matter  of  fact  recitation  of  the  same 
truths  which  it  contins.  He  might  have  said,  "The  Lord 
is  my  Shepherd,  He  cares  for  me,  He  takes  me  where 
there  is  food  and  water."  This  is  the  same  thought  as 
that  of  the  original,  but  what  a  contrast !  The  Psalmist's 
thought  outran  the  food  and  water ;  his  perceptions  had 
been  cultivated  by  his  contact  with  nature.  He  saw  the 
pasture  and  the  stream ;  his  mind  dwelt  on  the  color  of 
the  grass,  and  the  quiet  of  the  meadow  brook.  He 
thought  of  satisfaction,  of  security,  of  serenity.  He 
wrote,  "Jehovah  is  my  Shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want.  He 
maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures ;  He  leadeth  me 
beside  the  still  waters!"  The  Hebrew  original  is  even 
more  beautiful  and  expressive.  Literally  it  is  "pastures 
of  tender  grass"  and  "waters  of  quietness."  What  has 
the  poet  done  for  us  by  such  expressions?  He  has  done 
in  marked  degree  what  all  poetry  does  for  those  who 
are  susceptible  to  its  influence.     Poetry  gives  us: — 

(i)  The  penetrating  vision;  an  oblique  view  of  truth, 
its  unusual  aspects,  its  special  relations.  It  unveils  its 
hidden  beauties,  connects  it  with  analogies,  and  sets  forth 
its  symbolism. 

(2)  Lofty  aspiration.  It  appeals  to  the  highest  mo- 
tives ;  sets  forth  the  best  uses ;  deals  with  supreme  serv- 
ices. It  emphasizes  the  nobility  of  manhood,  and  com- 
mends fellowship  with  God. 

(3)  Dramatic  intuitions;  the  play   of  the  passions; 


268  THE  STUDY 

the  deeper  meaning  of  words  and  actions ;  the  significance 
of  movement ;  the  revelation  of  the  inwardness  of  things ; 
above  all  the  inner  heart  of  man. 

(4)  Quick  sympathies;  sensitiveness  to  pain  and  grief 
and  joy  and  happiness ;  a  fellow  feeling  with  all  mankind ; 
sympathy  with  Jesus  Christ  in  His  work  of  redemption. 

(5)  Concreteness  of  thought;  not  abstract  philoso- 
phy; not  unsubstantial  theorizing,  but  form  and  shape 
even  to  the  most  shadowy  of  our  conceptions. 

(6)  Choice  diction. 

It  would  seem  as  though  too  much  study  could  not 
be  given  to  poetry,  and  yet  there  are  those  who  derive 
harm  from  an  undue  attention  to  it.  But  this  is  only 
when  the  habit  of  allegorizing  is  formed,  and  a  certain 
use  of  language  is  adopted  which  is  ill  adapted  to  prose, 
a  kind  of  transcendental  style  which  never  touches  the 
earth,  but  lingers  forever  in  the  air.  The  preachers 
who  display  this  style  remind  us  of  a  remark  which 
Webster  once  made  concerning  his  opponent  in  a  law 
case;  "Gentleman  of  the  jury,  this  man  neither  alights 
or  flies  forward.  He  hovers."  Some  preachers  are  noth- 
ing but  poets ;  their  sermons  are  altogether  sentimental 
and  imaginative.  They  conduct  their  audience,  as  it  were, 
into  a  beautiful  piece  of  woods,  vocal  with  the  songs  of 
birds,  adorned  with  wild  flowers,  fascinating  in  its  play 
of  light  and  shadow,  but  suddenly  the  guide  disappears 
and  the  followers  are  left — "in  the  woods!" 

Perhaps  the  simplest  and  easiest  way  to  show  the  in- 
fluence of  poetry  upon  the  imagination  is  to  choose  some 
subject  with  which  some  poem  deals,  and  make  the  at- 
tempt to  write  a  sermon  in  the  spirit  of  the  poem,  not 
repeating  any  of  it,  not  employing  perhaps  any  of  its 
language,  but  adopting  its  style,  its  view-point,  and  its 
method  with  practical  and  positive  additions.     Suppose 


IMAGINATION  269 

the  preacher  were  to  do  this  with  the  subject  of  prayer. 
Suppose  he  were  to  employ  for  his  purpose  only  certain 
well  known  hymns  such  as  "Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere 
desire,"  "Jesus,  where'er  Thy  people  meet,"  "Inspirer 
and  hearer  of  prayer."  Let  him  make  use  of  the  sug- 
gestions which  are  found  in  these  hymns,  the  aspect  in 
which  prayer  is  regarded  in  them.  Let  him  endeavor 
to  carry  his  imagination  along  the  same  lines  and  see 
what  the  outcome  may  be.  Or  if  the  preacher  does 
not  produce  a  whole  sermon  in  such  a  way,  suppose  he 
makes  the  poetry  a  guide  for  a  portion  of  the  sermon ; 
or  suppose  he  quotes  poetry  in  connection  with  the 
thought  to  which  he  has  given  utterance. 

This  suggestion  applies  not  only  to  poetry  in  meter. 
There  are  certain  prose  writers  whose  style  is  decidedly 
poetic  and  imaginative.  The  preacher  may  give  attention 
to  these,  also. 

The  practical  outcome  of  all  this  will  be  that  the 
preacher,  having  cultivated  his  own  imagination  and  em- 
ployed it  for  illustrative  purposes,  will  appeal  to  the  im- 
agination of  his  hearers.  He  will  enable  them  to  see 
that  in  truth  which  has  been  concealed  from  them.  He 
will  enable  them  to  appreciate  the  lessons  of  the  past. 
He  will  carry  them  into  that  future  into  which  he  has 
been  able  to  peer,  and  they  with  him  will  have  a  fore- 
glimpse  of  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness.  He  will  stir  their  deepest  emo- 
tions ;  he  will  excite  their  best  sentiments.  He  will  move 
them  as  they  are  never  moved  by  barren  thought  or 
cold  logic. 


APPLICATION. 


APPLICATION. 

Distinguished  from  the  "Conclusion/* 

I.  It  is  in  the  text  and  the  subject. 

II.  It  is  in  the  man. 

III.  Various  forms. 
"Means  and  methods." 

IV.  Use  of  the  emotions. 

V.  The  place  for  the  application. 


Read  Kennard's  "Psychic  Power  in  Preaching;"  Kern's  "Miniatry  to  the 
Congregation,"  XIX ;  James'  "  Talks  to  Teachers,"  VIII. 


XYT^ 

APPLICATION. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  application  in  con- 
nection with  the  conckision.  The  two  terms,  however, 
are  not  synonymous :  the  conclusion  is  a  rhetorical  term 
denoting  the  closing  portion  of  an  address ;  the  applica- 
tion is  a  moral  or  spiritual  term  denoting  the  use  which 
is  to  be  made  of  the  address — perhaps  in  the  conclusion ; 
perhaps  elsewhere.  Spurgeon  expresses  the  proper  sense 
of  the  term  when  he  says,  "Where  the  application  begins 
the  sermon  begins,"  that  is  to  say,  the  sermon  is  the 
application,  and  conversely  the  application  is  the  ser- 
mon. In  this  connection  a  fine  anecdote  is  related  of 
Spurgeon,  as  quoted  by  Kern.  He  says,  "A  young  man 
preached  one  Sunday  morning  in  London,  taking  as  his 
theme  the  Great  Day  of  Atonement  (Lev.  16:34),  and 
thirty  years  after,  one  of  his  hearers  wrote  to  him,  "I 
distinctly  remember  carrying  away  the  inerasable  im- 
pression of  power  that  could  not  be  explained  and  re- 
fused to  be  measured,  power  shown  in  lucid  statement 
vivid  picturing,  pungent  appeal,  and  red-hot  earnestness. 
The  Levitical  sacrifices  were  as  real  as  though  offered 
but  yesterday,  and  their  meaning  as  clear  and  indisputa- 
ble as  the  shining  of  the  August  sun,  and  yet  the  center 
of  interest  is  not  in  the  Jewish  offerings  but  in  the  needs 
of  the  soul,  and  besides  them  the  preacher  uses  nothing 
except  as  God's  sure  remedy  for  sin.  Every  paragraph 
ends  \vith  a  clause  which  says,  'He  means  me ;  he  is  ap- 

273 


274  THE  STUDY 

pealing  to  me ;  he  He  is  praying  for  me.'  "  The  young 
preacher  was  Chas.  H.  Spurgeon.  In  that  sermon  he 
illustrated,  as  he  did  in  all  his  sermons,  his  theory  of 
the  application.  It  formulates  the  fundamental  principle 
in  the  theory  of  preaching.  If  adopted  by  the  preacher 
it  will  be  for  him  the  cure  of  all  mere  formal  discourse. 
The  application  will  be  a  pervasive  thing  rather  than 
an  explicit  thing.  It  will  be  suggested  in  the  opening 
sentence  of  the  sermon,  and  will  be  started  on  its  way 
to  the  conscience  of  the  listener.  It  will  gather  momen- 
tum as  it  proceeds,  imtil  its  final  power  will  appear  as 
the  sermon  is  concluded. 

Such  being  the  case  a  number  of  particulars  may  be 
observed  with  regard  to  it. 

I.  First  of  all  the  application  is  in  the  text  and  in 
the  subject.  The  text  is  chosen  because  the  preacher 
sees  the  application  in  it,  and  the  subject  is  so  conceived 
and  announced  by  him  as  that  it  contains  the  applica- 
tion, in  its  initial  form. 

The  preacher's  power  in  this  respect  will,  therefore, 
depend  very  largely  upon  his  choice  of  texts  and  his 
statement  of  subjects,  and  the  rules  which  we  have  al- 
ready given  with  regard  to  them  will  be  found  to  apply. 
Indeed,  if  his  text  is  chosen  and  his  subject  stated  as 
they  should  be,  the  application  will  very  largely  take 
care  of  itself,  and  the  preacher  need  not  be  particularly 
concerned  with  regard  to  it.  But  upon  the  other  hand 
there  may  be  an  undiscovered  application  in  the  text, 
or  the  application  which  plainly  appears  to  the  devout 
and  earnest  student  of  the  Word  may  be  vitiated  or  ob- 
scured by  improper  handling. 

II.  Again  the  application  is  in  the  man,  that  is  in 
the  preacher.  It  resides  in  his  spirit  and  manner  rather 
than  in  any  language  which  he  may  employ  to  express 


APPLICATION  275 

it.     It  will  be  conveyed  by  his  sincerity,  his  earnestness, 
and  his  fidelity  to  the  Word  of  God. 

This  has  been  well  expressed  by  Dr.  Stiles  of  New 
York  in  an  article  in  the  Homiletic  Review  for  March, 
1908.  The  subject  of  the  article  is  "Detached  Preach- 
ing." The  author  begins  by  quoting  Dr.  John  Watson, 
"While  the  preacher  should  be  very  sparing  of  *I,'  it 
should  be  possible  for  an  expert  to  compose  a  biog- 
raphy of  him  from  a  year's  sermons.  Sometimes  a 
single  sermon  should  reveal  his  personality  sufficiently 
to  furnish  material  for  a  biography.  He  is  not  to  exploit 
himself  or  to  exhibit  his  egotism ;  ncA^ertheless  the 
preacher  who  does  not  convey  himself  as  he  conveys 
his  inessage  fails  at  the  most  important  point."  The 
failure  to  do  this  is  "detached  preaching."  It  consists 
in  handing  over  a  course  of  thought  to  a  congregation 
with  their  permission  to  take  it  or  discard  it  upon  its 
own  merits.  It  is  as  though  the  preacher  said,  "Do  not 
be  influenced  by  me.  Merely  consider  whether  this  is 
true  and  good,  and  decide  for  yourselves  what  you  will 
do  with  it."  Some  preachers,  says  Dr.  Stiles,  do  this 
in  a  humble  spirit  because  they  do  not  desire  to  inter- 
pose any  authority  of  their  own,  and  this  assumption  of 
impersonality  has  an  air  of  genuine  modesty  in  it.  Never- 
theless there  must  be  something  of  such  assumption,  or 
the  preacher's  sermon  is  not  preaching  according  to 
Biblical  models.  No  preacher  has  any  right  to  abdicate 
his  function  and  refer  his  hearers  only  to  a  distant  and 
disembodied  divinity.  The  preacher  must  be  the  embodi- 
ment of  the  truth  which  he  announces,  and  it  must  have 
with  him  a  vital  power.  The  mistake  that  some  ministers 
make  is  that  of  thinking  that  truth  contains  its  own  force ; 
but  there  is  no  force  at  all  in  mere  truth.  It  is  only 
when  the  truth  takes  hold  on  some  man,  and  thus  be- 


276  THE  STUDY 

comes  incarnate,  that  it  has  influence  and  power.  It 
is  not  true  that  "truth  is  mighty  and  will  prevail"  if 
that  truth  be  dissociated  from  a  living  and  energetic  per- 
sonality. The  application,  therefore,  is  in  the  preacher. 
It  has  power  because  he  is  himself  possessed  by  it.  His 
words  are  in  no  sense  autobiographical ;  he  reveals  no 
personalities ;  he  is  not  oracular  or  dogmatic ;  and  yet 
he  is  his  own  best  argument.  This  is  because  he  has 
chosen  his  text  and  his  subject  out  of  his  deep  desire 
to  bless  his  fellow  men  in  the  name  of  Christ;  because 
this  deep  desire  is  made  manifest  throughout  his  whole 
sermon,  and  more  than  all,  because  he  plainly  indicates 
as  he  proceeds  with  his  sermon  that  it  will  not  be  fin- 
ished with  its  close.  He  will  still  continue  to  preach 
that  sermon,  not  in  formal  discourse,  but  in  many  ways 
in  which  he  will  follow  it  with  the  lessons  which  it  con- 
tains. It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  pulpit  will  never 
lose  its  power ;  because  the  power  is  not  in  the  message 
alone ;  but  also  in  the  man.  Printed  sermons  are  always 
divested  of  a  large  part  of  their  power.  As  Dr.  Jeffer- 
son says,  "You  can  not  print  a  man,  and  the  sermon 
without  the  man  is  not  a  sermon  in  the  full."  "Vital 
preaching,"  says  Slattery,  "depends  more  upon  the  will, 
the  purpose,  and  the  sincerity  of  a  man's  character  than 
upon  his  mental  attainments.  Clever  people  can  make 
brilliant  orations,  but  only  good  people  can  preach  ser- 
mons that  will  help  any  one.  The  goodness  which  these 
people  must  have  is  not  an  insipid  innocence,  but  qual- 
ities of  positive  excellence.  They  display  this  largely 
in  the  attitude  which  a  preacher  takes  to  his  congregation. 
Let  us  pray,  therefore,  that  the  clergy  of  our  time  may 
have  large  and  strengthening  sympathy  for  men  that 
falter  and  stumble;  that  they  may  clap  their  hands  for 
joy  because  men  of  other  callings  find  their  vocations 


APPLICATION  ^^^ 

sacred ;  that  they  may  be  self-forgetful  friends  and  serv- 
ants of  all  men." 

Preaching  is  testimony  more  than  it  is  anything  else, 
and,  therefore,  there  is  more  individuality  in  this  form 
of  address  than  in  any  other.  What  would  be  an  un- 
mannerly display  of  egotism  outside  of  preaching  is  not 
only  permissible  in  preaching  but  is  positively  peremptory. 

Dr.  J.  Spencer  Kennard's  book  on  "Psychic  Power 
in  Preaching"  deals  exclusively  with  this  element.  He 
defines  the  term,  "psychic  power"  as  "the  energy  of 
the  preacher's  soul  in  contact  with  that  of  the  hearer," 
and  quotes  H.  W.  Beecher's  words  "The  living  force 
of  the  living  soul  on  living  souls  for  the  sake  of  their 
transformation  is  the  fundamental  idea  of  preaching." 
He  also  quotes  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  "The  orator  only 
becomes  our  master  at  the  moment  when  he  is  himself 
captured — taken  possession  of  by  a  sudden  rush  of  fresh 
inspiration."  He  produces  testimonies  from  many  sources 
to  the  same  effect. 

It  is,  therefore,  absolutely  idle  for  the  preacher  who 
does  not  possess  the  two  elements  which  we  have  re- 
viewed to  attempt  an  application  of  any  other  kind. 
Nevertheless  when  there  is  manifest  application  in  both 
message  and  man,  it  yet  remains  that  there  are  certain 
portions  of  the  sermon  in  which  the  direct  attempt  must 
be  made  to  press  home  the  truths  which  are  being  ut- 
tered.    Hence  we  consider 

III.  Various  forms  of  application.  There  are  quite 
a  number  of  them.  None,  perhaps,  are  more  comprehen- 
sive than  those  which  are  given  by  Kern,  as  follows : 
Recapitulation,  illustration,  inferences,  exhortation,  and 
so  forth.  But  that  form  of  application  which  deserves 
special  attention,  and  which  is  of  the  greatest  value,  is 
that  which  is  called  by  Broadus  the  appHcation  of  "means 


27Z  THE  STUDY 

and  methods/'  that  is,  the  careful  and  specific  direction 
as  to  the  way  in  which  the  provisions  of  the  sermon  are 
to  be  carried  out.  It  is  here  that  the  preacher  sometimes 
fails  and  incurs  the  just  criticism  of  one  who  said  with 
regard  to  a  certain  sermon,  "He  told  us  to  do  it,  but  he  did 
not  tell  us  how  to  do  it."  If  there  is  no  such  applica- 
tion the  exhortation  "to  (|o  it"  is  no  more  than  a  com- 
mand to  make  bricks  without  straw.  Many  illustrations 
may  be  given  of  this  form  of  application,  and  in  con- 
nection with  a  number  of  general  subjects  which  the 
preacher  is  apt  to  discuss;  for  example,  the  duty  of  im- 
mediately accepting  the  salvation  offered  in  Christ  Jesus. 
The  hearer  should  always  be  told  just  how  this  accept- 
ance of  Christ  is  to  be  made ;  in  what  spirit,  in  what 
terms,  and  with  what  intentions.  He  can  not  be  too 
particular  in  discussing  the  details  of  the  method  whereby 
one  is  led  to  exercise  saving  faith  in  the  Redeemer.  So 
with  regard  to  repentance  and  the  surrender  of  all  evil 
habits  and  practices.  So  with  regard  to  the  matter  of 
Christian  liberality.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  urge  people 
to  give  freely  of  their  means:  they  should  be  instructed 
with  regard  to  the  principles  of  Christian  giving,  the 
objects,  the  times,  the  proportions,  and  above  all  with 
regard  to  their  indebtedness  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  their  obligation  to  hold  all  that  they  have  as  a  sacred 
trust.  It  is  very  particularly  so  also  with  regard  to 
Christian  service.  Congregations  are  frequently  urged 
to  do  something  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  recognition 
of  all  that  He  has  done  for  them ;  but  the  preacher  is 
not  often  enough  explicit  with  regard  to  the  ways  in 
which  Christ  may  be  served,  the  avenues  of  usefulness, 
and  the  time  which  sihould  be  set  aside  for  distinctly 
Christian  work.  Many  a  preacher  who  discourses  upon 
this  subject  would  find  it  hard  to  give  particular  instruc- 


APPLICATION  279 

tions  to  those  who  might  enquire  of  him  as  to  the  means 
and  methods  by  which  his  exhortations  should  be  put  in 
practice. 

The  first  Christian  sermon  which  was  preached  after 
the  ascension  of  our  Lord  is  a  very  fine  illustration  of 
all  that  has  been  said  upon  the  subject.  This  was  Peter's 
sermon  upon  the  Day  of  Pentecost.  Let  the  reader  ex- 
amine it  from  beginning  to  end  with  reference  to  this 
matter  of  application.  He  will  find  that  the  application 
of  that  sermon  resided  in  the  subject  and  in  the  man. 
He  will  also  find  that  when  Peter  concluded  it  with  the 
words,  "Let  all  the  house  of  Israel  therefore  know  as- 
suredly, that  God  hath  made  Him  both  Lord  and  Christ, 
this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified,"  those  that  heard  were 
pricked  in  their  heart  and  exclaimed,  "Brethren,  what 
shall  we  do  ?"  They  were  moved  to  action.  They  wished 
direction  with  regard  to  the  way  in  which  the  exhorta- 
tion of  the  sermon  should  be  carried  out,  which  direc- 
tions Peter  immediately  proceeded  to  give  them. 

The  application  then  should  deal  with  particulars, 
particular  duties,  graces,  fruits,  and  the  like.  This  does 
not  mean  that  it  is  to  be  directed  at  particular  individ- 
uals. The  only  time  when  the  preacher  can  adapt  his 
application  to  one  particular  person  is  when  there  is  only 
one  person  in  the  audience.  Such  was  the  case  when 
Nathan  preached  to  David,  Elijah  to  Ahab,  Jesus  to  Nico- 
demus  and  to  the  woman  of  Samaria.  But  in  order  that 
the  application  may  be  particular  it  is  not  amiss  for  the 
preacher  to  make  the  class  which  he  is'  addressing  very 
plain  even  as  Jesus  did,  to  limit  it  closely  and  particu- 
lar as  when  He  said,  "Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees ;  woe  unto  you,  lawyers." 

IV.  The  method  of  application  is  closely  connected 
with  what  has  been  already  said.    It  is  a  rhetorical  method 


28o  THE  STUDY 

rather  than  an  argumentative  one.  It  is  finally,  and  we 
believe  above  all,  an  appeal  to  the  emotions.  Men  are 
seldom  moved  by  a  sheer  argument;  they  are  seldom 
moved  by  a  mere  exhortation.  There  must  be  that  as- 
sociated with  the  argument  or  the  exhortation  which 
deeply  stirs  their  feelings.  Ordinary  preachers  do  not 
make  enough  of  the  emotions,  and  they  may  well  learn 
a  lesson  in  this  respect  from  the  method  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful evangelists.  When  one  suffers  loss  in  his  emo- 
tional nature  ^he  suffers  that  which  affects  both  his  in- 
tellect and  his  will.  Nor  can  the  intellect  and  the  will 
be  as  vigorous  as  they  should  be,  nor  as  healthy  as  they 
should  be,  when  the  emotional  nature  is  dwarfed  or  sup- 
pressed. This  is  a  well  recognized  principle  in  psychol- 
ogy, and  has  been  set  forth  at  some  length  by  Professor 
James.  One  of  his  finest  illustrations  is  derived  from 
Darwin's  autobiography.  This  great  scientist  made  the 
following  confession:  "Up  to  the  age  of  thirty  or  be- 
yond it,  poetry  of  many  kinds  gave  me  great  pleasure, 
and  even  as  a  school-boy  I  took  intense  delight  in  Shake- 
speare. I  have  also  said  that  pictures  formerly  gave  me 
considerable  and  music  very  great  delight,  but  now  for 
many  years  I  can  not  endure  to  read  a  line  of  poetry.  I 
have  tried  lately  to  read  Skakespeare,  and  have  found 
it  so  intolerably  dull  that  it  nauseated  me.  I  have  also 
lost  my  taste  for  pictures  or  music.  My  mind  seems  to 
have  become  a  kind  of  machine  for  grinding  general  laws 
out  of  a  large  collection  of  facts,  but  why  this  should 
have  caused  the  atrophy  of  that  part  of  the  brain  alone 
on  which  the  higher  tastes  depend  I  can  not  conceive. 
If  I  had  to  live  my  life  again  I  would  have  made  a  rule 
to  read  some  poetry  and  listen  to  some  music  at  least 
once  every  week,  for  perhaps  the  parts  of  my  brain  now 
atrophied  would  thus  have  been  kept  alive  through  use. 


APPLICATION  aSi 

The  loss  of  these  tastes  is  a  loss  of  happiness,  and  may 
possibly  be  injurious  to  the  intellect  and  more  probably 
to  the  moral  character  by  enfeebling  the  emotional  part 
of  our  nature."  This  is  a  sad  confession,  but  it  is  a  true 
transcript  of  that  which  happens  when  the  emotions  are 
suppressed.  The  preacher,  therefore,  must  not  suppress 
them  in  himself  ,  and  he  must  keep  them  fully  alive  in 
Jiis  hearers  by  his  methods  in  applying  the  truth. 
'  And  yet  he  must  be  on  his  guard  in  this  matter. 
While  we  have  said  that  sheer  argument  does  not  gener- 
.  ally  lead  to  action,  it  is  equally  true  that  a  mere  appeal 
•  to  the  emotions  does  not  lead  to  action  unless  it  be  pre- 
ceded by  sound  and  cogent  reasons.  It  must  also  rest 
upon  worthy  motives  which  take  hold  of  the  consciences 
of  men  and  urge  them  on.  It  must  also  insist  upon  im- 
mediate and  positive  action,  and  the  preacher  must  make 
it  plain  that,  if  such  action  does  not  follow,  the  hearer 
injures  his  own  life.  An  application  in  which  the  emo- 
tions only  are  engaged  results  in  what  Bishop  Butler 
calls  "passive  impressions,"  which  grow  positively  weaker 
with  repetition.  Professor  James  calls  our  attention  to 
the  psychological  reason  for  this.  He  says:  "When  a 
resolve  or  a  fine  glow  of  feeling  is  allowed  to  evaporate 
without  bearing  practical  fruit  it  is  worse  than  a  chance 
lost.  It  works  so  as  to  positively  hinder  future  resolu- 
tions and  emotions  from  taking  the  nonmal  path  of  dis- 
charge. There  is  no  more  contemptible  type  of  human 
character  than  that  of  the  nerveless  sentimentalist  and 
dreamer  who  spends  his  life  in  a  weltering  sea  of  sensi- 
bility but  never  does  a  concrete  manly  deed." 

A  fine  illustration  of  all  this  is  found  in  the  influence  of 
the  theatre,  for  notwithstanding  the  noble  sentiments  that 
are  sometimes  uttered  from  the  stage,  and  the  heroism 
and  integrity  of  character  which  is  frequently  displayed 


282  THE  STUDY 

thereon,  the  theatre  is  a  positive  failure  in  moral  teaching. 
As  Dr.  J.  D.  Moffat  well  remarks,  "it  over-feeds  the 
emotions."  Worse  than  that,  the  morality  which  it  dis- 
plays is  often  a  mere  simulation,  a  piece  of  transparent 
hypocrisy  which  may  be  presented  by  one  who  has  no 
moral  character,  in  which  case  the  influence  of  the  very 
moral  sentiments  which  are  spoken  must  be  bad  and  only 
bad.  The  Rev.  Charles  M.  Sheldon  refused  to  have  his  "Inl 
His  Steps"  dramatized  unless  those  who  proposed  to  pre- 
sent it  would  guarantee  that  all  the  actors  who  took  parts 
in  it  should  be  exemplary  Christians.  No  theatrical  man- 
ager could  furnish  the  guarantee,  therefore  it  never  found 
its  way  into  the  regular  theatre.  When  the  emotions 
only  are  moved  the  soul  is  greivously  tempted  to  a  re- 
sponse which  has  no  positive  virtue.  The  hearer  con- 
soles himself  by  saying,  "Yes,  I  have  done  wrong.  I 
know  I  have  done  wrong,"  and  he  seems  to  regard  this 
as  in  itself  a  form  of  absolution.  It  salves  the  conscience 
but  it  does  not  purge  it.  Sometimes  it  does  not  even  salve 
the  conscience.  It  leads  not  to  repentance,  but  to  de- 
spair.    So,  indeed,  it  was  with  Judas. 

A  little  child  said  to  his  mother,  when  he  had  dis- 
obeyed her  commands,  "Mamma,  I  did  not  mean  to  do 
it."  She  answered  him,  "Yes,  my  boy,  but  you  must 
mean  not  to  do  it."  The  resolution  must  be  a  positive 
one  in  favor  of  the  good,  and  it  must  issue  in  positive 
action.  Remember  what  the  Savior  said  about  the  un- 
clean spirit  when  he  had  gone  out  of  the  man.  Foster, 
the  biographer  of  Charles  Dickens,  says  that  the  great 
novelist  once  remarked  to  him,  "Foster,  the  truths  which 
have  had  the  greatest  influence  upon  mankind  have  made 
people  neither  laugh  nor  cry."  This  certainly  was  a 
strange  remark  to  proceed  from  such  a  source,  but  it  has 
a  world  of  truth  in  it.     A  preacher  is  not  effective  sim- 


APPLICATION  aiC 

ply  because  his  preaching  produces  tears.  Truth  is  not 
powerful  because  it  makes  those  who  hear  it  laugh  or 
cry.  It  is  the  truth  that  enters  the  soul  like  the  barb 
of  an  arrow :  that  stays  and  rankles  there ;  that  can  not 
be  removed  except  by  surgery,  some  moral  surgery  that 
will  effect  a  change  of  conditions.  Such  is  the  truth 
that  is  effective. 

The  preacher,  however,  must  remember  that  the  emo- 
tions are  not  to  be  reached  by  a  mere  effort  to  reach 
them.  We  can  not  urge  a  congregation  to  feel  the  force 
of  our  application.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  such  a  thing. 
The  application  is  in  the  man.  He  must  feel  the  force 
of  the  truth  himself.  The  feeling  will  not  come  because 
we  bid  it  come.  It  comes  chiefly  through  the  imagina- 
tion<  it  comes  through  the  presentation  of  details :  it  comes 
from  the  graphic  setting  forth  of  those  things  with  which 
the  truth  is  associated,  and  when  the  preacher,  dwelling 
upon  the  scene  which  he  describes  or  upon  the  truth 
which  he  is  endeavoring  to  expound,  feels  the  thrill  in 
his  own  soul  he  may  be  sure  that  the  audience  will  feel 
the  thrill  when  he  presents  the  truth  to  them.  When,' 
so  to  speak,  the  "cold  shivers"  run  over  him,  then,  and 
only  then,  may  he  know  that  those  to  whom  he  speaks 
are  similarly  affected.  Then  comes  that  inexplicable  con- 
tagion of  sympathy — sympathy  with  the  truth,  and  sym- 
pathy with  Christ  by  which  the  application  is  made  sure. 

V.  The  place  of  the  application.  It  is  not  always 
at  the  close  of  the  sermon.  It  may  often-  be  distributed 
with  profit  as  we  have  already  indicated.  At  all  events, 
the  preacher  should  cultivate  variety  in  this  respect.  If 
he  IS  in  the  habit  of  introducing  his  application  only  at 
the  close  of  his  sermon,  he  may  be  sure  tliat  some  peo- 
ple will  prepare  for  it  and  be  ready  to  evade  it.  The  ex- 
pression of  the  application  should  not  be  too  frequent: 


284  THE  STUDY 

it  should  not  be  too  complex.  It  should  seldom  be  pro- 
longed, and  it  should  not  ordinarily  be  accompanied  with 
much  voice  or  with  great  physical  force.  Best  of  all,  it 
should  be  chiefly  suggestive,  so  that  sometimes  the  most 
effective  application  is  an  interrogative  one.  This  was 
often  employed  by  the  Savior.  "Which  of  these  three, 
thinkest  thou,  proved  neighbor  unto  him  that  fell  among 
the  robbers  ?"  "The  baptism  of  John,  was  it  from  heaven, 
or  from  men?" 

And  this  the  preacher  should  not  neglect  to  do.  When 
his  sermon  is  in  course  of  preparation  he  should  fre- 
quently ask  himself,  Would  this  consideration  move  me? 
Would  this  argument  avail  in  my  case?  Do  I  myself 
get  help  and  comfort  here?  Would  I  do  myself  that 
which  I  am  counseling  others  to  do?  And  let  him  re- 
member that  the  measure  of  his  success  in  preaching  is 
to  be  found  alone  in  the  degree  in  which  the  application 
of  his  sermon  is  observed  and  practised  by  his  people. 
Not  his  brilliant  rhetoric,  not  his  sound  arguments,  not 
his  telling  illustrations,  but  his  positive  usefulness  is  the 
measure  of  his  success. 


MORAL  QUALITY. 


MORAL  QUALITY. 

The  spirit  and  temper  of  the  8«rmon. 

1.  Cheering  and  cheerful. 

2.  Unconventional. 

3.  Patient. 

4.  Casting  no  suspicion  upon  God. 

5.  Leading  to  Christ. 


Read  Jefieraon's  "Minister  as  Prophet,"  II ;  Abbott's  "Christian  Ministry,' 
VII;  Quaylt's  "  Pastor  Preacher,"  "  Never*. " 


XVII. 
MORAL  QUALITY. 

By  "moral  quality"  we  do  not  refer  to  any  ethical  or 
spiritual  element  of  the  sermon,  but  rather  to  its  spirit 
and  temper.  This  moral  quality  should  be  exhibited  in 
many  particulars,  too  many  indeed  to  specify.  Let  us 
consider  some  of  the  more  important  ones. 

I.  First  of  all  the  sermon  should  be  eminently  cheer- 
ing and  cheerful.  The  pulpit  should  be  the  fount  of 
comfort  and  courage  for  all  the  devout  and  well-mean- 
ing souls  who  present  themselves  before  it ;  and  the  man 
in  the  pulpit  should  be  for  them  the  strong,  brave,  and 
self-reliant  soul,  full  of  faith,  confident  in  God,  and  ab- 
solutely self-possessed.  The  world  is  full  of  tired  people, 
lonesome  people,  heartsick  people,  sinsick  people,  and 
they  will  throng  the  Church  of  any  one  who  is  compe- 
tent to  bring  them  help,  and  who  is  always  intent  upon 
doing  so.  But  none  of  them  desire  him  to  exhibit  in 
himself  the  weaknesses  and  pains  of  which  they  them- 
selves are  conscious.  People  who  suffer  do  not  want 
their  friends  to  assume  suffering  in  order  to  sympathize 
with  them.  People  who  weep  are  not  anxious  that  others 
should  weep  with  them  because  of  a  sort  of  contagion. 
People  who  are  crushed  with  trial  amd  temptation  are 
never  helped  by  those  who  appear  to  be  equally  crushed 
with  themselves. 

It  is  true  that  we  must  "weep  with  those  that  weep," 
but  that  does  not  mean  that  we  weep  from  wcakne««. 


aSS  THE  STUDY 

There  is  no  record  of  the  Savior's  having  wept  with 
those  in  sorrow,  except  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus.  We 
are  thankful  that  He  did  so  once — it  had  a  world  of 
suggestion  and  comfort  in  it.  But  for  all  He  wept  on 
that  occasion  He  was  not  unmanned.  How  strong  and 
helpful  He  appears  in  His  words  to  Martha,  particularly 
when  he  assures  her  that  her  brother  shall  rise  again! 
And  so  the  Savior  appeared  on  all  occasions  when  He 
ministered  to  those  in  distress.  Contrast  Him  with  the 
mourners  of  that  day,  some  of  them  hired  mourners, 
whom  He  oftentimes  rebuked,  and  whom  on  one  occa- 
sion He  ordered  from  the  room  in  which  He  was  about 
to  manifest  His  power  and  His  glory. 

And  the  preacher  should  be  as  much  like  Jesus  in 
these  respects  as  it  is  possible  for  him  to  be.  At  least 
the  same  contrast  should  appear  between  his  bearing  and 
that  of  those  to  whom  he  ministers.  There  are  plenty 
"to  make  ado."  Let  him  not  be  one  of  them.  Let  him 
always  be  quiet,  calm,  and  natural.  It  will  render  him 
all  the  more  tender,  considerate,  and  gracious.  Let  him 
observe  those  whom  people  in  distress  prefer  to  have 
about  them,  and  those  whose  presence  they  do  not  de- 
sire. They  invariably  turn  from  those  who  whine  and 
snivel :  there  is  no  comfort  for  them  in  such. 

But  this  does  not  mean  by  any  means  that  the  preacher 
is  to  assume  an  indifference  to  those  who  are  in  pain, 
or  to  cultivate  a  sort  of  professional  stoicism.  Such 
preachers  would  remind  one  not  of  the  loving  Christ,  but 
of  such  statues  of  Him  as  we  sometimes  see,  represent- 
ing Him  in  the  attitude  of  ministering;  but  railed  off 
and  inaccessible.  The  people  come  just  near  enough  to 
Him  to  fail  of  touching  Him.  A  marble  Christ  helps  no 
one.    No  more  can  a  marble  preacher. 

The  preacher  must  ever  believe  that  "the  best  is  yet 


MORAL  QUALITY  a«9 

to  be ;"  that  no  condition  is  as  bad  as  it  appears ;  and  that 
the  light  will  break  forth  in  due  season.  No  preacher 
can  afford  to  be  a  pessimist  in  the  pulpit,  but  he  must 
always  show  therein  what  Lyman  Abbott  calls  "a  divine 
hopefulness."  "If  he  is  to  be  a  leader  he  must  set  before 
himself  an  ideal,  and  he  must  have  in  him  some  expec- 
tation that  that  ideal  can  be  attained.  He  is  to  have  the 
courage  to  see  things  as  they  are,  but  he  must  also  have 
faith  in  a  God  who  is  in  the  world  making  things  better, 
and  an  incorrigible  expectation  that  they  will  be  better, 
and  an  invincible  determination  to  do  something  to  make 
them  better.  He  who  has  no  vision  to  see  a  better  future, 
and  no  expectation  inspiring  him  to  its  attainment,  does 
not  belong  in  the  Christian  ministry." 

It  is  not  well  for  the  preacher  to  dwell  too  much  upon 
the  trials  of  others  in  the  pulpit,  not  even  upon  those 
of  his  most  devoted  parishioners.  If  he  has  occasion  to 
refer  to  them,  the  reference  should  be  offset  with  a  more 
extended  reference  to  the  relief  which  God  has  promised 
to  those  that  fear  and  love  Him,  There  is  danger  some- 
times when  the  preacher  talks  too  much  in  the  pulpit 
about  the  sorrows  and  trials  of  men  that  he  may,  as 
Bishop  Quayle  suggests,  "grow  hysterical."  It  is  an  easy 
thing  to  do,  and  one  may  think  that  he  is  all  the  more 
considerate  and  sympathetic  when  it  is  done,  "but  hys- 
terics," says  Bishop  Quayle,  "are  not  things  catalogued 
in  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit." 

Least  of  all  should  the  preacher  refer  in  the  pulpit 
to  his  own  trials  or  his  own  bereavements.  He  should 
never  allude  to  them  in  any  form  of  public  address,  either 
oral,  written,  or  printed.  Sometimes  the  preacher  seems 
to  think  when  he  makes  mention  of  his  hard  work,  the 
difficulties  of  his  position,  or  his  poverty,  he  is  winning 
some  sort  of  credit  for  himself  and  making  capital  for 


2^  THB  STUDY 

his  preaching,  but  such  is  not  the  case.  On  the  contrary, 
»ome  have  even  unseated  themselves,  and  become  unpop- 
ular with  an  otherwise  kindly  people  by  such  references. 
"The  complaining  preacher,"  says  Bishop  Quayle  again, 
"is  a  good  specimen  of  a  humbug.  He  thinks  of  him- 
self more  highly  than  he  ought  to  think,"  And  Jeffer- 
son adds  another  suggestive  word,  "Men  who  are  ever- 
lastingly whimpering  because  of  their  misfortunes  and 
trials  can  never  lift  men  into  the  joy  of  the  gospel,  for 
if  one  is  to  keep  his  people  on  the  sunny  side  of  the 
street  he  must  walk  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  street  him- 
self. Jesus  does  not  call  men  into  the  ministry  with  a 
promise  of  ease  and  comfort.  No  doubt  He  expects 
them  to  be  pained  and  tried  in  order  that  they  may  be 
qualified  to  direct  the  multitudes  of  sorrowing  and  suffer- 
ing people  in  this  weary  world."  His  own  first  sermon, 
which  He  preached  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth,  where 
He  had  been  brought  up,  foreshadowed  the  character  of 
His  entire  preaching  work.  By  a  happy  Divine  Provi- 
dence the  Scripture  lesson  for  the  day  was  taken  from 
the  6ist  chapter  of  Isaiah,  "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Je- 
hovah is  upon  Me,  because  Jehovah  hath  anointed  Me 
to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek:  He  hath  sent 
Me  to  bind  up  the  brokenhearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to 
the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that 
are  bound,  to  proclaim  the  year  of  Jehovah's  favor." 
His  sermon  seems  to  have  been  a  very  brief  one.  Per- 
haps He  was  interrupted  after  its  opening  sentence  with 
the  surprised  ejaculations  of  His  listeners;  for  all  that 
we  have  reported  of  His  sermon  is  in  these  words,  "To- 
day hath  this  Scripture  been  fulfilled  in  your  ears."  His 
congregation,  however,  were  astonished.  "They  won- 
dered at  the  words  of  grace  which  proceeded  out  of  His 
mouth."     And   so  Jesus  continued   upon   His   ministry. 


MORAL  QUALITY  291 

giving  sight  to  the  blind,  setting  souls  at  liberty,  pro- 
claiming the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord.  He  does  not 
seem  to  have  had  a  word  of  condemnation  for  any  ex- 
cept hypocrites.  And  the  preacher  should  strive  to  be 
more  like  Him.  If  the  man  in  the  pulpit  fulfills  his  min- 
istry a  very  beautiful  prophecy  of  Isaiah  (56:7)  will 
be  fulfilled  with  regard  to  the  place  of  worship  in  which 
he  ministers.  "Even  them  will  I  bring  to  My  holy  moun- 
tain, and  make  them  joyful  in  My  house  of  prayer."  A 
house  of  prayer  ought  to  be  on  every  occasion  a  very 
foretaste  of  heaven,  and  heaven  will  be  infinite  good 
cheer.  It  will  be  a  holy  place.  Yes,  it  will  be  that  first 
of  all.  "There  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  anything 
unclean."  But  it  will  also  be  a  happy  place:  no  night, 
no  heat,  no  thirst,  no  tears,  no  sickness,  and  no  sorrow. 
There  will  be  rivers  of  pleasure,  a  beatific  vision,  and 
eternal  glory. 

2.  The  sermon  should  be  unconventional.  The 
preacher  who  fulfills  his  mission  will  not  be  bound  by 
any  formal  rules,  nor  handicapped  by  any  technical  re- 
quirements. We  have  been  engaged  during  the  chapters 
which  have  preceded  this  in  stating  these  formal  rules. 
No  one  can  become  an  efficient  preacher  without  master- 
ing them,  and  it  is  sincerely  hoped  that,  so  far  as  they 
commend  themselves  to  the  reader,  they  may  be  adopted 
by  him.  But  it  is  also  as  sincerely  hoped  by  the  author 
that  they  will  all  of  them  be  ignored,  if  not  indeed  abso- 
lutely forgotten.  They  should  be  like  the  soapsuds  in 
which  the  good  woman  of  the  old  story  cleansed  her 
week's  washing,  but  which  did  not  appear  in  the  beauti- 
fully clean  fabrics  that  hung  upon  her  clothesline.  Tech- 
nical formulas  are  only  the  scaflfoldimg  by  means  of  which 
ft  structure  is  erected,  and  it  is  a  great  mistake  in  any  de- 
partment of  thought  to  permit  the  scaffolding  to  remain 


292  THE  STUDY 

after  it  has  served  its  purpose.  The  beginner  in  the  art 
of  drawing  may  need  to  make  measurements,  and  com- 
pare distances,  and  experiment  with  Hghts  and  shades, 
but  he  will  never  become  a  draftsman  until  he  has  learned 
to  draw  with  a  free  hand.  No  more  can  one  ever  be- 
come a  preacher  who  is  not  what  may  be  called  a  free- 
hand preacher.  There  must  be  no  rhetorical  or  theolog- 
ical trammels  upon  his  thought  or  manner  in  the  pulpit. 
The  course  of  training  through  which  he  has  passed 
should  have  been  sufficient  to  teach  him  what  the  truth 
is,  and  how  it  may  be  best  proclaimed ;  but  when  once 
his  course  of  training  is  completed  he  should  be  in  every 
respect  himself,  suiting  himself  to  the  occasion,  to  the 
people  to  whom  he  ministers,  and  to  the  needs  of  the 
hour. 

There  is  an  immense  amount  of  cant  uttered  from 
the  pulpit  by  well-meanimg  preachers  whose  vocabulary 
is  limited,  and  whose  experience  is  scant.  It  is  no  .great 
reflection  upon  them  that  they  seem  to  be  unable  to  talk 
in  other  terms,  but  it  is  a  serious  hindrance  to  their  use- 
fulness. "Cant"  is  the  use  of  religious  phraseology  with- 
out sincerity  or  without  pertinency.  It  is  the  adoption 
of  certain  stock  phrases  which  when  first  uttered  had 
force  and  meaning  in  them,  but  which  lose  their  force 
and  meaning  by  constant  reiteration.  It  is  also  the  adop- 
tion of  a  certain  tone  or  manner,  or  method  of  doing 
things,  which  has  had  the  same  history,  but  which  has 
become  obsolete.  Of  course,  there  are  many  religious 
phrases  which  the  preacher  must  continually  employ. 
They  are  his  stock-in-trade :  he  can  no  more  dispense 
with  their  use  than  the  electrician  can  dispense  with 
"volts"  and  "amperes,"  or  the  carpenter  dispense  with 
"feet"  and  "inches,"  But  these  expressions  are  Scrip- 
tural ones.  They  are  used  by  the  sacred  writers.  Their 
sense  has  been  determined  by  long  usage,  and  there  are 


MORAL  QUALITY  293 

no  expressions  which  can  take  their  place.  But  there 
are  other  expressions  and  other  forms  of  thought  which 
are  inventions  of  men,  and  sometimes  very  poor  inven- 
tions at  that,  and  the  preacher  often  continues  to  repeat 
them  until  they  become  obnoxious. 

Slattery  indicates  that  it  is  almost  as  bad  to  use  the 
Scriptural  phrases  to  which  we  have  referred  with  un- 
due frequency.  It  renders  them  meaningless  and  hollow. 
Our  Savior  may  be  properly  called  "Our  Blessed  Lord" 
he  says,  but  to  hear  Him  called  "Our  Blessed  Lord"  every 
time  He  is  mentioned  in  a  sermon  with  a  rattling  com- 
monplaceness  is  shocking.  "There  never  was  a  time  more 
impatient  of  sham  in  the  religious  life.  Men  are  Indeed 
too  sensitive  about  it,  often  thinking  to  discover  it  where 
there  is  only  the  stoutest  sincerity."  But  for  this  very 
reason  we  must  be  the  more  on  our  guard  against  it. 

It  is  not  alone  in  the  use  of  conventional  expressions 
that  the  preacher  may  commit  an  error;  but  as  we  have 
already  indicated  by  addressing  his  fellows  in  some  stereo- 
typed way  that  is  not  absolutely  suited  to  their  occupa- 
tions, their  aspiration,  or  their  conditions  in  life.  When 
the  preacher  knows  how  to  adapt  his  methods  as  well 
as  his  language  to  his  listeners  so  that  they  realize  that 
he  is  not  an  alien,  nor  his  words  an  intrusion,  but  that  he 
is  dealing  with  them  as  a  fellow  sinner  and  as  a  fellow 
saint,  he  becomes  truly  influential.  He  must  adopt  the 
vernacular  of  his  congregation,  so  far,  of  course,  as  it 
is  suited  to  the  pulpit,  and  he  must  make  use  of  such 
means  as  are  suited  to  conditions.  It  is  this  which  gives 
the  "Bonnie  Brier  Bush"  and  the  "Sky  Pilot"  their  pe- 
culiar sweetness,  and  their  remarkable  suggestiveness. 
They  represent  men  who  lived  among  the  people  as  the 
people  lived,  fell  into  their  ways  of  thinking,  and  met 
themnipon  their  own  ground. 

Jesus  did  not  teach  often  where  the  rabbis  of  His 


294  THE  STUDY 

day  taught;  He  never  made  use  of  their  quibbles  and 
refinements,  and  therefore  the  common  people  heard  Him 
gladly.  And  after  He  had  spoken  those  wonderfully  fresh 
and  unconventional  words  upon  the  mount,  we  are  told 
that  when  He  came  down  from  the  mountain  great  mul- 
titudes followed  Him.  He  had  taught  them  as  one  hav- 
ing authority,  and  not  as  their  scribes. 

3.  The  sermon  must  exhibit  great  patience.  The 
preacher  is  very  often  discouraged  with  himself  and  dis- 
couraged with  his  people,  and  in  consequence  becomes 
somewihat  intolerant.  When  he  is  in  such  a  state  of 
mind  he  is  apt  to  take  his  people  to  task  for  their  negli- 
gence, and  sometimes  he  even  goes  so  far  as  to  scold 
them  from  the  pulpit  for  what  he  believes  to  be  their 
indifference  or  their  shortcomings.  But  this  is  not  as 
it  should  be.  If  his  indignation  is  aroused  he  should  be 
very  careful  how  he  expresses  it.  Vices  and  errors  may 
stir  his  conscience,  and  seem  to  him  to  call  for  public 
reproof,  but  he  should  be  very  careful  how  this  reproof 
is  administered.  If  his  indignation  seems  to  be  mixed 
with  any  self-sufficient  spirit  it  will  counteract  any  ele- 
ment of  good  which  there  may  be  in  his  reproof. 

A  book  for  children  which  was  published  many  years 
ago  gave  four  rules  for  parental  government  which  these 
children  were  taught  to  exercise  when  they  were  en- 
gaged in  plays  in  which  they  simulated  the  action  of  a 
father,  mother,  or  teacher.  "When  you  consent,  consent 
cordially.  When  you  refuse,  refuse  finally.  When  you 
punish,  punish  good-naturedly.  Commend  often,  never 
.scold."  The  four  rules  may  well  be  employed  by 
preachers  in  their  pulpit  work.  They  must  ever  be  fully 
appreciative  of  the  efforts  of  their  people,  the  difficulties 
under  which  they  labor,  the  obstacles  which  are  in  their 
way,  the  hardship  of  natural  temperament  and  taste,  of 


MORAL  QUALITY  295 

the  callings  in  which  they  are  engaged,  the  neighbor- 
hoods in  which  they  live,  and  such  like.  The  preacher 
should  be  diligent  to  find  things  that  he  may  praise  rather 
than  things  that  he  may  blame.  "Censure,"  says  Bishop 
Quayle,  "requires  a  small  brain  and  a  wagging  tongue, 
but  to  praise  requires  often  a  systematic  insight  of  a 
brother's  heart.  How  gleeful  any  congregation  is  which 
finds  itself  possessed  of  a  pastor  who  enjoys  them  and 
their  church,  and  their  children  and  their  way  of  doing 
things,  and  who  every  once  in  a  while  remarks  *I  never 
enjoyed  a  people  more  than  this  one.'  It  is  so  cheap 
to  browbeat  a  congregation,  and  so  charming  and  manly 
to  enjoy  one."  He  says  again,  "Do  not  stew.  This  is  the 
best  word  for  what  so  many  preachers  mistake  for  being 
in  earnest.  Stewing  is  no  sign  of  earnestness.  It  is  a 
sign  of  lack  of  self-control  and  of  self-calm." 

4,  The  sermon  should  never  cast  any  suspicion  upon 
God.  We  do  not  mean  to  indicate  that  the  preacher  has 
any  intention  of  doing  so.  We  doubt  if  there  is  any 
gospel  minister,  in  our  own  or  other  lands,  who  would 
do  such  a  thing  as  this  deliberately.  It  can  not  be;  it 
is  an  impossible  h3'pothesis.  And  yet,  while  the  preacher's 
intentions  may  be  absolutely  good,  and  his  own  con- 
fidence in  the  goodness  of  God  be  absolutely  unshaken, 
he  may  inadvertently  so  express  himself  in  the  pulpit  as 
that  those  who  hear  him  shall  be  timid  in  their  approaches 
to  God,  and  doubtful  of  their  reception  by  Him,  or  of 
the  favorable  consideration  of  their  case  and  condition 
at  the  Almighty's  hands.  Have  we  altogether  escaped 
from  the  heathen  notion  that  our  God  might  do  us  hanm? 
that  He  is  not  altogether  favorably  disposed  towards  us? 
that  He  is  to  be  appeased  in  some  way?  that  His  favor 
must  be  purchased  at  some  price?  Have  we  learned  as 
yet  the  infinite  difference  between  propitiation  and  repa- 


296  THE  STUDY 

ration,  between  atonement  and  compromise?  Can  we 
make  it  absolutely  plain  to  our  people  that,  while  God 
can  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty.  He  has  already  re- 
moved their  guilt  if  they  are  ready  to  believe  it  and  ac- 
cept His  forgiveness?  Do  we  realize  that  there  is  posi- 
tively no  sin  so  great  that  it  can  not  be  forgiven,  and 
are  we  prepared  so  to  preach  to  the  people  who  listen 
to  us  that  they  shall  feel  and  know  in  their  deepest  souls 
that  there  is  absolutely  nothing  to  keep  them  from  God 
except  that  which  is  in  themselves? 

Many  people  are  given  altogether  too  much  to  an 
evil  introspection  by  which  their  very  faults  are  magni- 
fied, and  fictitious  obstacles  beween  themselves  and  their 
Savior  are  erected  in  their  own  minds.  This  is  some- 
times heightened  by  the  condition  of  their  health.  Dys- 
pepsia and  nervous  weakness  often  induce  a  condition 
of  spiritual  hopelessness,  which  the  preacher  can  do  very 
much  to  remove  by  his  method  of  presenting .  the  love 
of  God.  Sometimes  references  are  made  to  the  "unpar- 
donable sin,"  giving  to  it  a  character  which  is  absolutely 
unwarranted  by  the  Scripture.  Some  poor  souls  believe 
it  to  consist  in  some  overt  act  of  transgression,  some 
sort  of  willfulness  or  presumption.  They  imagine  that 
they  have  committed  it,  and  that  they  are  without  hope. 
But  it  is  well  understood  now  by  the  best  thinkers  upon 
the  subject  that  the  unpardonable  sin  is  not  an  act  but 
a  condition,  and  when  that  condition  is  reached  the  soul 
is  "past  feeling,"  that  as  long  as  one  has  any  fear  lest 
he  have  committed  it,  or  any  wish  to  be  forgiven  in 
case  he  supposes  he  has  committed  it,  the  condition  cer- 
tainly has  not  been  reached.  Dr.  R.  A.  Torrey  has  pub- 
lished the  account  of  three  different  individuals  with 
whom  he  dealt,  and  all  of  whom  were  brought  to  Christ, 
who  had  reached  a  condition  in  which  hope  seemed  to 


MORAL  QUALITY  297 

have  absolutely  departed  from  their  breasts.  One  of 
them  was  a  "professional  murderess."  She  attended 
his  meetings  for  a  time,  but  made  every  effort  to  throw 
off  the  conviction  which  she  felt  was  fastening  upon 
her  soul.  One  evening  she  came  to  the  evangelist  and 
said,  "You  may  preach  now  as  much  as  you  please. 
You  can  have  no  effect  upon  me.  I  have  prayed  to  the 
devil  to  take  away  all  my  religious  feeling,  and  my  prayer 
has  been  regarded,"  and  she  laughed  in  his  face;  and 
yet  in  this  woman's  case  Christ  proved  stronger  than 
the  devil  and  she  was  led  to  a  living  and  loyal  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "Despairing  of  no  man,"  such 
are  the  beautiful  words  in  the  margin  of  Luke  6: 35,  and 
such  should  be  the  spirit  of  the  preacher.  It  is  well  ex- 
pressed in  Faber's  beautiful  lines: 

"  There's  a  wideness  in  God's  mercy, 

Like  the  wideness  of  the  sea ; 

There's  a  kindness  in  his  justice, 

Which  is  more  than  liberty." 

What  a  lesson  the  Savior  taught  His  disciples  with 
regard  to  their  confidence  in  God  when  He  healed  the 
man  that  was  born  blind.  They  imagined  that  his  calam- 
ity must  have  been  occasioned  either  by  his  own  sin  or 
by  the  sin  of  his  parents.  Jesus  corrected  their  misap- 
prehensions. He  taught  them  once  for  all  that  provi- 
dence is  not  always  punitive,  and  that  the  purpose  of 
providence  is  not  always  the  punishment  of  the  offender, 
but  the  vindication  of  the  goodness  of  God.  He  said: 
"Neither  did  this  man  sin,  nor  his  parents:  but  that  the 
works  of  God  should  be  made  manifest  in  him."  And 
surely  they  were  manifested  in  him!  The  man  himself 
was  healed  and  saved ;  the  power  of  Jesus  was  exhibited 
in  a  miracle  which  even  His  enemies  surrendered  to  Him, 
and  the  way  was  prepared  for  the  proclamation  of  a 


298  THE  STUDY 

great  spiritual  truth,  namely,  that  Jesus  was  the  Light 
of  the  world ;  that  for  judgment  he  came  into  the  world 
that  they  that  see  not  might  see,  and  that  they  that  saw 
might  become  blind. 

By  the  adoption  of  such  principles  as  the  foregoing, 
the  preacher  will  make  his  pulpit  what  it  should  be,  the 
source  of  comfort  and  of  courage.  Landseer  has  a  very 
beautiful  picture  which  is  entitled  "The  Sanctuary."  It 
represents  a  stag  which  has  been  pursued  by  the  hunters, 
but  which  has  eluded  them  by  taking  to  the  water.  In 
the  light  of  the  early  morning  he  appears  just  gaining 
the  shore  of  an  island,  to  which  he  has  swum  from  the 
mainland  in  the  distance.  Poor  fellow,  he  is  the  very 
picture  of  exhaustion.  His  head  is  thrown  high  into 
the  air,  his  tongue  lolls  from  his  mouth,  his  legs  seem 
scarcely  able  to  support  his  weight.  He  is  evidently 
staggering  ashore.  It  has  been  a  hard  and  bitter  strug- 
gle, but  he  is  safe  at  last.  The  Sanctuary !  Oh,  that  it 
might  be  to  the  weary  souls  that  resort  to  it  what  the 
island  shore  was  to  the  wounded  stag! 

The  finest  character  in  all  uninspired  literature  is 
Bunyan's  "Great  Heart."  He  is  the  ideal  Christian  pas- 
tor. The  Pilgrim's  Progress  is  supposed  to  be  a  juvenile 
book,  and  its  use  is  largely  limited  to  children,  but  he 
who  has  not  read  it  since  he  was  a  child  has  failed  to 
grasp  its  deeper  meaning.  By  all  means  let  the  preacher 
read  it  again,  especially  the  young  preacher,  before  he 
begins  upon  his  life  work.  And  let  him  make  a  careful 
study  of  its  principle  character.  He  is  not  Mr.  Big 
Brains,  but  Mr,  Great  Heart.  He  is  a  servant  of  the 
Interpreter — that  is,  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  is  attached 
to  House  Beautiful,  that  is  the  Church  of  God,  and  he 
does  the  bidding  of  the  Interpreter  for  those  who  become 
his  guests.     Great  Heart  is  many  things,  but  he  is  one 


MORAL  QUALITY  299 

thing  in  particular.  He  is  a  great  theologian  and  com- 
petent to  discuss  the  doctrines  of  grace  with  those  who 
are  equally  learned  with  himself.  But  he  is  more  than 
this  and  other  than  this.  He  is  a  mighty  man  of  valor, 
fearless  in  opposing  the  enemies  of  his  master,  and  suc- 
cessful in  his  encounters  with  them.  But  he  is  more  than 
this  and  other  than  this.  First  of  all  and  chiefly,  he  is 
the  considerate  companion  of  a  little  company  of  weaker 
spirits  than  his  own,  and  it  is  his  business  to  conduct 
them  from  the  House  Beautiful  to  the  river,  beyond 
which  is  the  Celestial  City.  He  is  their  trusted  friend, 
their  loving  counsellor.  They  look  to  him,  lean  upon 
him,  and  obey  him.  His  tenderness  and  his  consideration 
are  the  chief  elements  in  his  character.  How  lovingly 
he  deals  with  Mr.  Fearing  and  with  Mr.  Feeble  Mind! 
How  much  is  contained  in  the  suggestion  that,  when  he 
found  one  of  these  lying  outside  the  House  Beautiful, 
not  daring  to  knock  for  admission.  Great  Heart  went  out 
"one  sunshiny  morning"  and  urged  him  to  come  in.  And 
so  on  to  the  end.  And  Great  Heart  is  but  a  reflection  of 
the  spirit  which  was  manifested  in  the  Savior  Himself, 
and  in  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  Paul,  taking 
farewell  of  the  elders  of  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  referred 
to  his  work  in  that  city  in  terms  which  fully  set  forth 
what  should  be  the  moral  quality  of  one's  ministry  in 
the  pulpit.  He  said  (Acts  20:33-35),  "I  coveted  no 
man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel.  Ye  yourselves  know  that 
these  hands  ministered  unto  my  necessities,  and  to  them 
that  were  with  me.  In  all  things  I  gave  you  an  example, 
that  so  laboring  ye  ought  to  help  the  weak,  and  to  re- 
member the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  He  Himself 
said.  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

5.  Finally,  every  sermon  must  lead  to  Christ.     Christ 
Jesus  must  be  unto  the  pulpit  for  all  preaching  purposes 


so©  THE  STUDY 

"wisdom  from  God,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption," The  sermon  which  does  not  get  to  Christ 
is  not  a  Christian  sermon.  It  must  get  to  Christ.  It 
MUST  GET  TO  Christ.  Whatever  the  particular  text,  or 
theme,  or  place,  or  occasion  there  must  ever  be  manifest 
that  attraction  of  the  Cross  which  shall  be  as  persistent, 
as  powerful,  and  as  uniform  as  gravitation.  Jesus  Christ 
must  be  the  supreme  argument,  the  supreme  illustration, 
the  supreme  application.  Instruction,  exhortation,  conso- 
lation must  all  end  in  the  Divine  Redeemer.  "I  preach 
Christ"  must  be  the  preacher's  inspiration,  his  guiding 
principle,  and  his  greatest  glory.  If  not,  his  sermon  will 
be  like  the  Temple  when  Jesus  took  leave  of  it  forever, 
"desolate."    So  also  will  be  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed. 


XVIII. 
HOMILETICAL  MAXIMS. 

T.  The  essential  element  in  preaching  is  the  prophetic. 

2.  It  is  not  so  important  for  the  preacher  to  find  texts 
as  to  put  himself  in  the  way  of  texts  finding  him. 

3.  A  text  can  not  be  well  worked  out  until  it  has  been 
well  worked  in. 

4.  The  preacher's  chief  duty  by  his  text  is  to  find  and 
preach  its  one  meaning. 

5.  Having  announced  his  text  the  preacher  should 
attack  it  at  once  by  answering  the  inquiry  of  his  audience. 

6.  The  thought  of  the  sermon  must  be  organized.    A 
sermon  is  not  a  structure  but  a  growth. 

7.  Beware  of  anticipation.     It  is  always  destructive 
of  interest  and  often  of  profit. 

8.  When  the  preacher  ceases  to  interest  he  ceases  to 
profit. 

9.  The  finest  literary  art  is  to  simplify  the  profound. 

10.  The  sermon  that  has  no  present  day  value  has  no 
value  at  all. 

11.  Instruction  is  the  first  requisite  in  sermonizing. 

12.  Have  special  care  in  definition ;  it  is  the  beginning 
of  proof. 

13.  The  whole  object  of  argumentation  is  "to  change 
the  minority  into  the  majority." 

14.  The  great  value  of  testimony  appears  from  this, 
that  faith  is  founded  on  fact. 

901 


302  THE  STUDY 

15.  The  illustration  which  adds  nothing  to  the  thought 
is  generally  worthless. 

16.  The  best  illustrations  are  those  which  have  the 
value  of  proof. 

17.  The  thought  must  always  be  as  carefully  prepared 
for  the  illustration  as  the  illustration  for  the  thought. 

18.  Where  the  application  begins  the  sermon  begins. 

19.  First  of  all  the  application  is  in  the  text,  the  sub- 
ject, and  the  man. 

20.  The  best  feature  of  any  text,  relative  t30  the  ap- 
plication, is  its  distinctive  feature. 

21.  Never  tell  an  audience  to  do,  without  telling  them 
what  and  how  to  do. 

22.  Usefulness  is  the  measure  of  success. 

23.  The  truths  which  have  had  the  greatest  influence 
have  made  men  neither  laugh  nor  cry. 

24.  The  preacher's  greatest  power  is  derived  from 
realizing  the  possible. 

25.  Preach  Christ :  do  not  simply  preach  about  Him. 

26.  The  senmon  that  does  not  lead  to  Christ  and  get  to 
Christ  is  not  a  Christian  sermon. 

27.  The  true  sermon  is  the  result  of  a  supernatural 
process ;  it  is  devoted  to  a  supernatural  work ;  it  is  made 
effective  by  a  supernatural  influence.    Therefore, 

28.  "Sermonizing"  becomes  "preaching"  in  the  use  of 
that  material  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  engaged  to  em- 
ploy and  bless. 


PART  II. 
THE  PULPIT. 


PULPIT  MANNERS. 

Manners  in  Public  Speech. 

Specially  important  in  the  pulpit. 
Suggestions. 

1.  Punctuality. 

2.  Dignity. 

3.  Seriousness. 

4.  Distractions, 

5.  Dress. 

6.  Posture. 

7.  Leadership. 

8.  Notices. 

9.  Use  of  the  Bible. 
TO.  Associate  Minister. 
TT.  Tone  of  voice. 


Read  Preston's  "Pulpit  Manner;"  Jefferson's  "  The  Minister  as  Prophet," 
IV ;  Quayle's  "Pastor  Preacher"  ("Trivialities");  Cowper's  "Pulpit 
Proprieties." 


I. 

PULPIT  MANNERS. 

New  College,  Oxford,  was  founded  in  the  year  1378 
by  William  of  Wykeham,  Bishop  of  Winchester.  His 
motto,  now  blazoned  on  the  arms  of  the  college,  reads 
"Manners  Makyth  Man."  Just  how  much  he  intended 
to  include  in  the  word  "manners"  it  is  impossible  to  say, 
but  he  no  doubt  used  the  term  in  a  very  comprehensive 
sense,  implying  that  manners  are  a  large  part  of  educa- 
tion. In  the  same  sense  it  may  be  said  that  manners 
make  the  preacher. 

Very  much  of  a  public  speaker's  power  is  derived 
from  the  way  in  which  he  handles  himself.  It  is  of  al- 
most eqiial  importance  with  the  way  in  which  he  handles 
his  subject.  His  dress,  his  deportment,  the  tones  of  his 
voice,  and  his  general  bearing  affect  the  force  and  in- 
fluence of  his  message.  Seneca  said  of  Socrates  that  the 
philosophers  who  followed  him  learned  more  from  his 
manners  than  they  learned  from  his  morals,  and  while 
so  much  may  not  be  said  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  it 
must  at  least  be  granted  that  the  very  manners  of  the 
Savior  were  most  impressive  in  the  eyes  of  His  contem- 
poraries, and  still  remain  so.  The  Evangelists  give  us 
some  account  of  the  way  in  which  He  was  dressed,  par- 
ticular reference  being  made  to  His  seamless  robe.  They 
tell  us  something  of  the  tones  of  His  voice,  of  the  use 
of  His  hands,  and  of  the  very  way  in  which  He  looked 
upon  those  whom  He  addressed.     The  preacher,  there- 

305 


3o6  THE  PULPIT 

fore,  who  represents  Him  before  the  public  should  give 
due  attention  to  his  pulpit  manners. 

It  is  said  of  Patrick  Henry,  pleading  for  a  client: 
"His  very  manner  in  rising  to  his  feet  and  his  attitude  be- 
fore the  court  were  themselves  eloquence,  which  made  me 
for  the  moment  believe  in  spite  of  the  most  damning  evi- 
dence, that  the  accused  was  innocent."  Of  John  Angell 
James,  of  Birmingham,  it  is  written:  "As  Mr.  James 
slowly  entered  the  pulpit  the  stranger  would  see  in  his 
calm  and  solemn  countenance  that  his  spirit  was  awed 
by  a  sense  of  God's  presence."  Of  Dr.  Kirk,  of  Boston, 
it  is  said :  "His  personal  manners  gave  the  entire  tone 
and  effect  to  his  discourse." 

It  is  true  that  some  men  become  eloquent  whose  pul- 
pit manners  seem  objectionable.  The  lady  who  after- 
wards became  Mrs.  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  the  first  time  that 
she  saw  the  young  preacher  was  affected  only  with  a 
powerful  sense  of  the  ludicrous.  It  is  recorded  that  "she 
could  not  understand  his  earnest  presentation  of  the  gos- 
pel and  his  powerful  pleading  with  sinners  in  view  of 
his  huge  black  satin  stock,  his  long,  badly  trimmed  hair, 
and  his  blue  pocket  handkerchief  with  white  spots." 
Spurgeon  largely  overcame  these  things,  but  even  in  his 
earlier  years  he  would  have  been  the  better  preacher 
without  them. 

This  one  thing  is  to  be  specially  observed  and  noted 
with  regard  to  the  minister  in  the  pulpit.  He  can  not 
divert  attention  from  himself.  He  is  usually  alone.  The 
congregation  are  so  seated  that  their  eyes  are  turned  to 
him.  There  are  no  accessories  of  any  kind  with  which 
he  may  divide  the  responsibility.  Everything  that  con- 
cerns him  is  seen,  and  marked,  and  critized.  By  strangers 
at  least  everything  is  fairly  studied.  His  tones,  posi- 
tions, gestures,  garments— concerning  all  such  matters 


PULPIT  MANNERS  307 

many  a  one  in  the  congregation  asks  himself,  "Why  is 
he  so?" — "Why  does  he  do  so?"  The  minister  is,  there- 
fore, bound  to  give  such  matters  attention.  He  must 
seek  to  be  delivered  from  evervthing  that  is  ill-mannered 
and  out  of  taste,  and  if  he  does  not  accomplish  his  own 
emancipation  from  these  things  he  is  very  much  to  be 
blamed. 

We  offer,  therefore,  some  suggestions  with  regard  to 
the  minister's  manners  in  the  pulpit. 

1.  He  should  be  punctual  in  his  appearance  at  pub- 
lic worship,  and  equally  punctual  in  bringing  the  wor- 
ship which  he  conducts  to  a  close.  It  is  well  for  him 
to  have  an  understanding  with  the  organist,  if  he  has 
one,  with  regard  to  the  time  when  the  organ  shall  be 
played  and  at  just  what  point  the  minister  may  be  ex- 
pected to  enter.  If  he  is  not  punctual  in  opening  his 
service  he  will  cultivate  bad  habits  upon  the  part  of  its 
attendants.  If  he  is  uniformly  punctual  and  desires  his 
people  to  be  more  so,  all  that  he  needs  to  say  occasion- 
ally will  be,  "You  are  reminded  that  this  service  begins 
punctually  at  such  an  hour." 

2.  His  entrance  to  the  pulpit  should  be  deliberate 
and  dignified.  He  must  be  evidently  self-composed.  He 
should  not  appear  to  be  disconcerted  by  any  matter,  but 
be  himself  in  a  state  of  complete  repose.  His  own  calm 
will  be  likely  to  communicate  itself  to  his  congregation. 

3.  Having  entered  the  pulpit  and  taken  his  seat,  he 
must  not  seem  to  be  distracted  by  anything  in  the  church 
building  or  in  the  congregation.  He  should  not  gaze 
around  in  a  curious,  questioning  way,  as  though  he 
were  making  some  mental  examination  of  the  furniture, 
the  windows,  or  the  people  in  the  pews.  There  should 
be  no  evidence  of  his  looking  about  for  particular  people, 
as   though  he   were   enquiring  within  himself   whether 


3o8  THE  PULPIT 

so-and-so  was  at  church  to-day.  Whether  he  is  to  as- 
sume the  attitude  of  prayer  when  he  enters  the  pulpit 
is  a  disputable  question.  In  some  Protestant  Churches 
it  is  the  invariable  custom,  ministers  even  kneeling  at 
the  pulpit  or  altar  when  they  first  enter.  The  minister 
must  be  his  own  judge  with  regard  to  this  matter,  and 
not  follow  any  conventional  custom  in  a  perfunctory 
way.  He  certainly  should  have  engaged  in  prayer  before 
he  entered  the  pulpit,  and  the  spirit  of  prayer  should 
possess  him  throughout;  but  whether  he  is  to  advertise 
that  he  is  engaged  in  prayer  is  a  question  for  himself 
to  answer. 

4.  Having  once  entered  the  pulpit  he  should  remain 
there.  Only  for  some  very  exceptional  reason  should 
he  come  down  to  speak  to  one  in  the  pew  or  at  the 
door.  Everything  Avhich  needs  his  attention  should  re- 
ceive it  before  entering  the  pulpit.  He  should  have  a 
series  of  signals  arranged  with  the  ushers  which  can  be 
used  without  attracting  the  attention  of  the  congregation 
in  order  to  effect  anything  which  may  occur  to  him. 
A  good  device  is  a  push-button  in  the  pulpit  connected 
with  a  buzzer  at  the  vestibule  door.  In  this  way  the 
minister  can  easily  indicate  whether  he  wishes  the  win- 
dows opened  or  closed,  the  people  detained  for  a  moment, 
the  heat  or  light  regulated,  or  if  he  desires  that  one  of 
the  ushers  come  to  the  pulpit  that  he  may  speak  with  him. 
Occasionally  a  preacher  has  a  very  loose  way  of  flinging 
himself  into  the  pulpit  and  out  of  it  again,  and  tramp- 
ing about  the  church  as  if  he  were  an  errand  boy  on 
service.  This  is  much  to  be  deplored;  it  detracts  from 
the  spirit  that  should  pervade  the  place  and  makes  an 
audience  positively  fidgety.  Some  ministers  never  leave 
the  pulpit  except  to  speak  to  some  brother  minister 
whom  they  may  happen  to  see  in  attendance;  but  even 


I 

PULPIT  MANNERS  309 

this  is  a  doubtful  practice.  It  calls  public  attention  to 
the  presence  of  the  other  minister,  and  so  far  forth  de- 
tracts from  the  efficiency  of  the  service. 

5.  The  minister  should  be  becomingly  dressed  in  the 
pulpit.  If  it  is  the  custom  of  his  church  to  wear  a  gown 
the  whole  matter  is  settled  for  him,  and  this  is  one  great 
argument  in  favor  of  this  custom.  If  he  does  not  wear 
a  gown  he  should  be  clothed  in  simple  black.  His  coat, 
vest,  and  trousers  should  all  be  black.  His  necktie  should 
be  either  black  or  white,  and  there  should  be  no  other 
color  whatever  in  it.  The  custom  which  some  ministers 
have  adopted  of  dressing  for  the  pulpit  as  though  they 
were  expecting  to  attend  an  afternoon  tea,  wearing  per- 
haps a  white  vest,  and  striped  trousers,  is  to  be  deplored. 
The  minister  should  be  decently  dressed.  It  is  better 
for  him  to  wear  a  frock-coat  and  button  it  during  the 
service.  By  no  means  let  him  proceed  to  unbutton  it 
and  button  it  again.  But  the  frock-coat  it  not  imperative. 
He  may  wear  a  sack  coat  if  it  is  more  convenient,  but 
it  should  be  black  and  becoming. 

Dr.  Behrends  has  an  interesting  anecdote  of  a  certain 
parishioner  of  his  who  was  a  workingman,  and  who  was 
accustomed  to  sit  with  his  family  at  home  in  his  shirt 
sleeves,  but  when  he  conducted  family  worship  he  always 
put  on  his  coat  because,  as  he  said,  it  was  not  respectful 
to  appear  in  the  Lord's  presence  in  his  shirt  sleeves. 
Much  more  so  it  is  not  respectful  to  appear  in  the  Lord's 
presence  in  public  worship  in  any  but  the  most  suitable 
garments. 

The  minister  should  not  show  any  article  of  jewelry. 
His  gold  watch-chain,  if  he  wears  one,  should  be  con- 
cealed. The  least  that  is  permissible  is  a  simple  scarf- 
pin,  or  perhaps  the  wedding  ring  upon  his  finger. 

6.  He  should  care  for  his  posture  in  the  pulpit.       He 


3IO  THE  PULPIT 

should  not  sit  on  the  middle  of  his  back,  but  straight  up 
in  his  chair.  He  should  not  spread  his  legs  apart,  but 
\  keep  his  knees  together.  He  should  seldom  cross  his 
knees  in  the  pulpit,  and  never  by  resting  one  ankle  upon 
the  other  knee.  If  he  sits  in  a  moveable  chair  it  should 
not  appear  to  be  movable,  and  it  is  a  gross  offense  for 
him  to  tilt  back  in  it.  When  he  rises  to  speak  he  should 
stand  squarely  upon  his  two  feet,  and  he  should  endeavor 
to  acquire  habitual  uprightness  and  ease  in  the  pulpit. 
If  in  his  private  life,  in  walking,  standing,  or  sitting,  he 
would  assume  always  the  proper  posture,  he  would  not  be 
likely  to  appear  at  disadvantage  in  the  pulpit.  But  here 
at  least  he  should  have  a  care.  His  body  should  be 
absolutely  self-supporting;  he  should  never  permit  him- 
self to  lean  upon  the  pulpit,  though  he  may  occasionally 
rest  a  hand  upon  it  simply  for  the  greater  ease.  By  all 
means  let  him  not  throw  himself  down  upon  the  pulpit, 
his  arm  upon  the  Bible.  His  arms  should  usually  be 
allowed  to  hang  quietly  by  his  side.  He  should  not  fold 
them  upon  his  breast,  place  his  hands  upon  his  hips, 
or  bring  them  together  and  cross  the  fingers  in  a  kind 
of  defiant  attitude.  He  should  not  clasp  his  hands  over 
his  abdomen,,  nor  place  them  under  his  coat-tails,  nor 
put  them  in  his  pocket.  His  feet  should  be  quite  close 
together,  one  perhaps  a  little  in  advance  of  the  other, 
and  occasionally  the  position  may  be  changed ;  but  he 
should  not  stand  with  his  feet  too  far  apart,  nor  should 
there  be  that  great  rigidity  which  is  assumed  when  they 
are  placed  very  closely  together  and  upon  the  same  line. 
He  must  be  particularly  careful  in  his  pulpit  posture 
not  to  strike  an  attitude  as  though  there  were  something 
in  his  posture  to  which  he  desired  to  call  attention  for 
the  sake  of  effect. 

7.  From  beginning  to  end  his  conduct  of  the  worship 


PULPIT  MANNERS  311 

should  be  that  of  leadership.  He  is  the  ambassador  of 
Christ.  This  means  that  he  is  to  carefully  take  the  mid- 
dle ground  between  that  of  the  priest  and  that  of  the 
layman.  He  is  ordained  for  the  very  purpose  of  con- 
ducting public  worship.  He  should  use  a  certain  amount 
of  authority.  It  is  not  proper  for  him,  for  exaimple,  to 
announce  a  hymn  with  the  words  "Shall  we  sing?"  or 
"Sing,  if  you  please,"  nor  to  announce  a  prayer  in  any 
such  terms.  And  at  the  close  of  the  service,  when  he 
pronounces  the  benediction  it  should  be  as  one  who  is 
qualified  to  do  so.  Let  him  raise  both  his  hands,  the 
palms  towards  the  congregation,  and  solemnly  pronounce 
the  blessing  in  the  Savior's  name,  but  by  all  means  let 
it  be  a  Scriptural  benediction,  and  not  one  which  has 
been  devised  by  any  man.  The  so-called  "Apostolic  ben- 
ediction" is  the  best  for  ordinary  occasions ;  or  it  may 
be  abridged,  as  it  sometimes  is  in  the  New  Testament, 
to  "The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you 
all."  He  may  occasionally  employ  the  Old  Testament 
benediction,  "The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee:  the 
Lord  make  His  face  shine  upon  thee,  and  be  gracious 
unto  thee:  the  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  thee, 
and  give  thee  peace,"  or  he  may  employ  one  of  the  re- 
maining benedictions  given  in  the  Scriptures. 

8.  Let  him  beware  of  unseemly  interruptions  of  the 
service.  He  should  certainly  offer  none  himself.  It  were 
better  for  him  to  suffer  some  inconvenience  than  to  call 
for  something  to  be  given  him,  or  to  be  done  for  the 
congregation,  likely  to  distract  their  minds.  One  of  these 
unseemly  interruptions  is  the  unnecessary  giving  out  of 
notices,  or  the  prolonging  of  the  attention  devoted  to 
them.  The  pulpit  is  no  place  for  notices  other  than  those 
of  religious  gatherings,  though  it  may  be  that  sometimes 
the  preacher  may  have  occasion  to  call  attention  to  the 


312  THE  PULPIT 

business  of  his  own  congregation  or  something  of  the 
kind.  He  should  not  advertise  from  his  pulpit  anything 
that  is  better  advertised  in  the  daily  papers.  If  he 
publishes  a  church  bulletin,  whereon  the  notices  for  the 
week  are  printed,  he  should  not  repeat  those  notices  from 
the  pulpit,  nor  call  special  attention  to  one  above  another. 
If  one  is  more  important  than  another  let  it  be  printed 
in  display  type.  Certain  notices  ought  always  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  pulpit,  and  it  would  be  well  for  the 
preacher  to  make  an  inviolable  rule  with  regard  to  such 
matters,  and  occasionally  quote  the  rule  to  his  congrega- 
tion. It  may  read  in  some  such  form  as  this,  "Notices 
are  never  given  from  this  pulpit  that  relate  to  secular 
affairs.  Those  only  are  read  which  relate  to  religious 
gatherings  or  the  business  affairs  of  our  own  congre- 
gation." 

In  connection  with  the  matter  of  notices  a  word  should 
also  be  said  with  regard  to  the  pastor's  introduction  of 
a  visiting  clergyman  who  is  with  him  in  the  pulpit,  and 
who  is  to  speak  to  his  people  in  the  Savior's  name.  It 
is  usually  in  bad  taste  for  him  to  do  more  than  mention 
the  man's  name,  his  place  of  residence,  and  the  particular 
ministerial  work  in  which  he  is  engaged.  He  should 
say  nothing  with  regard  to  his  great  reputation,  his  schol- 
arly attainments,  his  genial  character,  or  anything  else 
of  this  kind. 

9.  Every  church  should  be  supplied  with  a  large  pul- 
\  pit  Bible,  preferably  of  the  American  Standard  Revision, 
and  from  this  large  Bible  the  preacher  should  read  the 
Scripture  lesson  for  the  day.  It  gives  it  a  certain  dignity 
which  it  does  not  receive  from  a  small  Bible  held  in  the 
preacher's  hand.  It  is  better  also  for  him  to  announce 
his  text  from  the  large  Bible,  though  sometimes  it  is 
more  convenient  for  him,  especially  if  there  are  several 


PULPIT  MANNERS  313 

references  to  other  passages  which  he  desires  to  make, 
to  announce  his  text  from  a  Bible  held  in  the  hand. 
But  the  text  should  always  be  read  with  the  eye  upon  1/ 
the  page.  No  matter  how  familiar  the  preacher  may  be 
with  the  words  of  the  text,  he  should  so  read  it  that  the 
impression  is  given  to  the  people  that  it  is  taken  direct 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Having  opened  his  Bible 
in  order  to  pronounce  his  text,  the  preacher  should  not 
close  it  until  the  sermon  is  finished.  Some  ministers 
have  a  way  of  quoting  the  text  and  immediately  closing 
the  Bible,  then  stepping  off  perhaps  a  few  paces  and 
commencing  the  sermon.  The  impression  which  is  con- 
veyed by  this  movement,  whether  it  is  so  designed  or  not. 
is  quite  likely  to  be  this,  that  the  Word  of  God  and  its 
particular  message  is  dismissed  with  the  text.  But  when 
the  Bible  remains  open  it  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  the 
text  itself  with  all  its  solemn  meaning  is  still  before  the 
people :  it  is  still  the  message  from  God  with  which  they 
are  engaged.  Sometimes  the  Bible  is  closed  when  the 
minister  is  nearly  through,  or  when  he  wishes  the  people 
to  think  he  is  nearly  through ;  but  it  may  be  only  a  false 
motion,  deliberately  intended  to  mislead  the  congregation 
in  the  hopes  of  securing  their  further  attention. 

10.  The  minister  should  not  talk  unecessarily  with 
another  minister  in  the  pulpit.  If  he  is  obliged  to  talk 
with  him  concerning  some  necessary  matter  he  must  at 
least  never  laugh  with  him,  nor  seem  to  the  congregation 
to  be  saying  anything  of  a  trivial  character.  He  should 
not  search  the  Bible  nor  the  hymn  book  while  the  other 
minister  is  engaged  in  prayer,  and  he  should  himself 
assume  the  same  posture  in  prayer  with  the  officiating 
minister  is  taking. 

Finally.  The  minister  should  avoid  an  unnatural,  ar- 
tificial tone  of  voice — a  "holy  tone"  as  it  is  sometimes 


314  THE  PULPIT 

called.  Such  a  tone  is  often  an  affectation;  it  always 
has  the  effect  of  one.  It  seems  to  savor  of  cant.  It  is 
said  of  Gypsy  Smith  that  there  are  "tears  in  his  voice." 
With  him  this  seems  to  be  quite  natural.  Let  others  to 
whom  it  is  unnatural  keep  them  out.  We  must  never 
adopt  a  tone  that  is  oily,  sanctimonious,  or  sepulchral. 
It  shuts  the  heart  of  the  hearer  against  us. 


EXTEMPORANEOUS   PREACHING:    AD  VAN 
TAGES;  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES. 


EXTEMPORANEOUS   PREACHING:    ADVAN- 
TAGES; FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES. 

I.  The  method  discussed. 

Advantages  of  preaching  from  manuscript  compared 
with  those  of  this  method. 

1.  Available. 

2.  Adaptation. 

3.  Freedom. 

4.  Systematic  thought. 
IT.  The  nature  of  the  art. 

1.  Addressing  an  audience  as  a  single  individual. 

2.  Mastering  the  progress  of  thought. 


Read  Bautain's  "Art  of  Extempore  Speaking;"  Ford's  "  Extempore  Speak- 
ing;" Storrs's  "  Preaching  Without  Notes;"  Buckley's  " Extemporan- 
eous Oratory." 


II. 

EXTEMPORANEOUS      PREACHING:      ADVAN- 
TAGES; FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES. 

The  best  method  of  delivery  for  the  preacher  is  that 
which  is  well  stated  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Richard  S. 
Storrs,  "Preaching  Without  Notes."  It  is  not  only  best 
in  itself,  but  it  is  best  for  the  largest  number  of  preachers. 
It  has  been  taught  by  the  writer  to  the  classes  of  the 
theological  seminary  for  thirteen  years,  and  its  graduates 
have  adopted  it  con  amove  with  but  a  single  exception. 

I.  Something  may  be  said  for  all  the  various  methods 
of  delivery  which  are  employed.  They  are  discussed 
at  length  by  many  authorities,  and  it  is  not  necessary 
that  they  should  be  here  described,  and  the  different 
arguments,  pro  and  con,  recited  in  full.  The  strongest 
argument  in  favor  of  preaching  from  a  manuscript  which 
has  come  to  the  writer's  notice  is  that  which  is  given 
by  Slattery  in  his  "Present-Day  Preaching."  He  con- 
fesses that  most  laymen  prefer  the  informality  and  di- 
rectness of  the  extempore  sermon,  but  he  offsets  this 
confession  with  the  remark  that  the  more  discreet  among 
the  laity  prefer  the  written  sermon  because  they  believe 
that  the  preacher  gives  them  more  thought,  and  thought 
more  fittingly  expressed,  more  "thickness  of  thought," 
as  Prof,  James  would  say.  If  a  man  finds  that  when 
he  writes  a  sermon  he  can  not  hold  the  close  attention 
of  a  congregation,  he  must  feel  himself  an  inferior 
preacher,  however  his  extempore  utterances  may  startle 

317 


318  THE  PULPIT 

and  thrill.  Dr.  Slattery  confesses  that  it  is  a  bore  to 
hear  a  written  sermon  which  is  merely  read.  A  written 
sermon,  he  says,  ought  to  be  preached  with  so  much  fire 
and  freedom  that  the  blind  parishioner  can  not  tell  whether 
the  sermonizer  has  a  manuscript  or  not.  "The  man  who 
thinks  at  all,"  he  says,  "finds  after  a  few  Sundays  under 
the  ministrations  of  the  anecdotal  preacher  that  he  is 
being  starved."  He  wishes  the  preacher  would  write 
his  sermons.  He  longs  for  a  compact  written  sermon, 
and  Dr.  Slattery  believes  that  this  man  is  a  member  of  a 
rapidly  growing  class  of  laymen.  The  writen  sermon 
appeals  to  the  candid  layman,  who  is  glad  to  believe 
that  his  clergyman  is  saying  what  he  has  carefully  writ- 
ten down  in  the  cold  moments  of  preparation.    . 

Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  gives  the  following  reasons  in 
favor  of  this  method ;  it  chastens  and  purifies  the  style ; 
it  tends  to  give  clearness  and  vividness  of  thought ;  greater 
compactness  with  greater  variety  of  material ;  and  relief 
to  the  mind  in  the  actual  process  of  delivery;  and  that 
mental  liberty  which  allows  the  preacher  to  give  more 
undivided  attention  to  the  devotional  parts  of  the  service. 

Such  arguments  have  much  force,  but  we  believe  that 
very  much  weightier  ones  can  be  presented  for  the  other 
method.  The  use  of  a  manuscript  is  scarcely  tolerated 
in  any  other  form  of  public  address,  and  why  it  should 
be  considered  a  help  in  the  presentation  of  the  important 
themes  that  have  to  do  with  man's  salvation  is  almost 
inexplicable.  Indeed,  the  habit  of  reading  a  sermon  in  the 
pulpit  has  very  few  historical  precedents  to  which  it  can 
appeal.  The  great  orators  of  antiquity,  sacred  and  classic, 
made  no  use  of  a  manuscript.  Possibly  in  the  case  of 
the  classic  orators  some  orations  were  written  before  they 
were  delivered,  but  as  one  has  well  remarked  with  re- 
gard to  them,  they  are  so  exceedingly  concise  and  compact 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        319 

that  they  must  have  been  intended  merely  as  a  guide  to 
the  orator  rather  than  as  the  actual  form  in  which  they 
were  presented  to  his  listeners. 

The  practice  of  the  early  church  is  clearly  against 
the  manuscript,  and  it  was  not  introduced  into  the  pulpit 
until  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  century.  The  practice 
seems  to  have  originated  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VHI, 
and  subsequently  increased  in  the  Church  of  England, 
considerable  prejudice  being  created  against  extemporan- 
eous preaching  because  the  Independents  and  Puritans 
were  generally  given  to  it.  Charles  H,  however,  at- 
tempted to  correct  this  method,  and  a  very  curious  letter 
was  sent  at  his  direction  to  the  clergymen  in  the  English 
church  providing  that  the  practice  of  reading  sermons 
be  wholly  laid  aside.  The  effort  failed,  however,  and 
the  use  of  the  manuscript  continued  in  the  Church  of 
England.  At  the  same  time,  however,  it  was  rarely  em- 
ployed upon  the  Continent.  Some  of  those  who  in  later 
times  were  accustomed  to  read  in  the  earlier  parts  of 
their  ministry  regretted  the  practice.  Jonathan  Edwards 
in  his  later  life  declared  in  favor  of  memoriter  preach- 
ing, or  even  actual  extemporizing.  Dr.  Chalmers,  who 
thought  himself  unable  to  extemporize  and  always  used 
a  manuscript,  found  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
employ  notes  when  he  was  addressing  the  operatives  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  city  of  Glasgow,  and  Dr.  Hanna  tes- 
tifies that  Chalmers'  sermons  to  these  plain  people  were 
more  effective  and  more  truly  eloquent  than  those  which 
he  delivered  with  so  much  applause  in  his  own  great 
church. 

The  reason  why  some  discountenance  the  extempo- 
raneous method  and  declare  in  favor  of  the  manuscript 
may  be  that  such  do  not  fully  understand  the  correct 
method  of  extemporizing,  or  that  they  have  not  been 


320  .THE  PULPIT 

taught  to  become  proficient  in  it.  Let  us,  therefore,  de- 
fine the  method  to  begin  with.  By  the  term  "extempo- 
raneous" we  do  not  mean  extemporaneous  thinking.  No 
matter  how  readily  one's  thoughts  may  come  to  the 
preacher  when  he  is  in  the  pulpit  upon  his  feet,  he  will 
not  become  an  effective  extemporaneous  preacher  if  his 
dependence  is  entirely  upon  the  occasion.  The  danger 
in  this  method  is  much  greater  to  the  fluent  man  than 
to  the  man  who  is  slow  of  speech,  for  the  man  to  whom 
ideas  (such  as  they  are)  readily  present  themselves  while 
he  is  engaged  in  the  act  of  speaking  will  certainly  fail 
to  discriminate  between  such  as  may  be  properly  em- 
ployed and  such  as  should  be  carefully  avoided.  He  will 
not  arrange  his  thoughts  in  logical  order,  and  he  is  not 
likely  to  succeed  in  producing  the  effect  at  which  he  him- 
self may  aim.  James  Russell  Lowell  characterizes  such 
men  most  admirably  in  the  words  of  Hosee  Bigelow, 

"  This  year  I  made  the  following  observations, 
Extrumpry  like  most  other  trials  of  patience." 

The  method  which  we  contemplate  is  called  by  Bau- 
tain  "prepared  extemporaneous  preaching,"  and  by  Dr. 
Storrs,  in  the  words  already  used,  "preaching  without 
notes." 

There  are  some  disadvantages  in  this  method  which 
are  real  and  serious.  The  preacher  is  liable  to  certain 
fluctuations  of  memory.  Even  he  who  generally  has  his 
subject  well  in  hand  finds  upon  occasions  that  his  mind 
is  blank ;  that  the  thought  which  he  had  hoped  to  present 
has  gone  from  him ;  and  he  is  at  a  loss  what  to  do  or 
say.  This  is  a  difficulty  not  easily  overcome,  though 
we  shall  show  a  little  later  on  how  even  this  may  be 
managed  in  the  pulpit. 

The  extemporaneous  preacher  is  also  subject  to  cer- 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        321 

tain  mental  moods  which  he  can  not  entirely  govern. 
They  are  sometimes  dependent  upon  the  state  of  his 
health.  Upon  one  occasion  he  is  buoyant  and  cheerful, 
upon  another  occasion  he  is  depressed  and  disheartened. 
It  is  not  easy  for  one  to  preach  a  cheerful  sermon  when 
his  spirit  is  distressed.  Yet  even  this  is  not  insuperable, 
as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  preacher  without  notes  is  very  much  more  de- 
pendent upon  the  sympathy  of  his  audience  than  he  who 
speaks  from  a  manuscript,  and  audiences  dififer  very 
widely.  Their  characteristics  are  as  varied  as  those  of 
individuals.  Sometimes  it  is  very  apparent  to  the  preacher 
that  those  whom  he  addresses  are  not  in  a  receptive 
state  of  mind.  He  feels  that  it  is  difficult  for  him  to 
obtain  a  favorable  hearing.  He  is  consequently  handi- 
capped and  ill  at  ease. 

Every  extemporaneous  preacher  will  confess  that 
sometimes  he  labors  through  his  discourse.  It  is  up-hill 
work  for  him;  his  mind  is  sluggish,  the  right  words  do 
not  come  to  hand ;  and  worse  than  all,  his  own  heart  is  not 
deeply  stirred.  But  even  so  we  believe  that  the  advan- 
tages far  outweigh  the  disadvantages. 

I.  The  chief  of  these  advantages  may  be  well 
stated  in  the  words  of  an  old  Scotchman,  who,  al- 
though he  was  but  a  day-laborer,  was  a  thoughtful 
Christian  man.  He  came  to  his  pastor  once  with  the 
remark,  "And  is  n't  it  a  good  thing  to  give  one's  lassies 
a  good  edication."  "Yes,"  his  pastor  remarked.  "It  is 
a  good  thing,  sir,  because  it  will  bide  with  them."  "Yes, 
indeed,"  his  pastor  answered,  "it  will  abide  with  them." 
"And  then  it  is  so  easy  carried  aboot."  "Very  true," 
said  his  pastor,  "very  true ;  there  are  no  express  charges 
on  an  education."  So  also  these  are  the  chief  advantages 
of  an  extemporaneous  method.     The  sermons  prepared 


3»2  THE  PULPIT 

upon  this  method  "abide"  with  the  preacher.  They  be- 
come his  permanent  possession.  His  sermons  will  be 
in  his  mind  whether  they  are  in  his  barrel  or  not.  And 
they  are  available — "easily  carried  about,"  so  that  if  he  en- 
ters the  pulpit — and  finds  the  occasion  absolutely  unsuited 
to  the  sermon  which  he  expected  to  deliver,  he  is  not 
at  a  loss  for  a  message.  He  has  plenty  of  material  at 
hand.  He  may  preach  a  different  sermon.  He  never 
need  dismiss  an  audience  as  the  manuscript  preacher  has 
been  obliged  to  do  because  his  sermon  has  been  left  be- 
hind; nor  sadly  wish  that  he  had  made  a  different  se- 
lection. 

2.  More  than  this.  The  extemporaneous  method  per- 
mits of  adaptation.  Any  given  sermon  may  be  modified 
to  suit  the  people  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  The  extem- 
poraneous preacher  enters  the  pulpit  prepared  for  the 
exigencies  of  the  hour.  No  matter  what  they  may  be 
he  brings  a  suitable  message  to  the  congregation.  His 
way  of  presenting  the  truth  may  be  modified  with  refer- 
ence to  the  number  who  may  be  present,  the  character 
of  the  attendants,  or  the  peculiar  conditions  of  the  time 
and  place. 

3.  But  the  method  furnishes  not  only  availability  and 
adaptation.  It  also  contributes  to  freedom  and  to  that 
sympathetic  power  which  is  rarely  exercised  by  the  reader 
of  a  manuscript.  It  is  true  that  the  manuscript  may  be 
used  in  such  a  way  as  that  it  scarcely  appears  to  be  read 
at  all,  and  those  who  advocate  the  use  invariably  insist 
up>on  great  freedom  therein.  But  no  one,  so  far  as  we 
have  found,  has  had  the  temerity  to  say  that  one  may 
have  the  same  freedom  or  the  same  power  when  he  is 
bound  to  a  manuscript  as  when  he  is  delivered  from  it. 
It  gives  the  preacher  what  has  been  called  "the  emanci- 
pated eye,"  and  this  has  much  to  do  with  the  power  of 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        323 

the  orator  over  his  audience.  He  may  take  advantage 
of  every  new  form  of  thought  and  every  exhibition  of 
interest  upon  the  part  of  his  auditors,  and  oftentimes 
that  which  would  be  but  a  mediocre  sermon,  if  dehvered 
from  a  manuscript,  rises  into  positive  superiority  when 
delivered  without  notes.  Dr.  Guthrie  compared  it  to 
the  firing  of  a  gun.  The  manner  is  the  power,  the  mat- 
ter is  the  shot,  and  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  a  tallow 
candle  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  powder  will  pierce 
a  board  upon  which  a  leaden  bullet  would  leave  only  a 
good  sized  dent  w^hen  fired  with  but  a  feeble  charge. 

4,  One  more  advantage  of  the  extemporaneous  method 
should  be  noted.  It  has  its  reflex  effect  upon  the  literary 
character  of  the  sermon  itself.  It  contributes  to  system- 
atic thinking.  It  promotes  orderly  arrangement  and  per- 
spicuity. This  is  simply  because  a  sermon  which  is  not 
properly  arranged  can  not  be  delivered  without  notes  un- 
less it  is  committed  to  memory ;  and  it  is  not  easy  even 
to  commit  to  memory  a  rambling  discourse. 

II.  We  pass  now  to  consider  the  nature  of  the  art  of 
extemporaneous  preaching.  If  we  can  discover  wherein 
it  actually  resides  we  shall  do  much  to  promote  its  culti- 
vation. While  there  are  many  things  which  are  asso- 
ciated with  it,  and  which  we  shall  pass  in  review  before 
we  conclude  this  subject,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  art 
consists  in  brief  in  two  important  comprehensive  ele- 
ments. 

I.  It  consists  in  addressing  an  audience  in  exactly 
the  same  way  in  which  a  single  individual  is  addressed 
in  ordinary  conversation.  A  difficulty  which  many 
speakers  find  in  attempting  to  speak  without  notes  re- 
sides in  the  fact  that  for  some  strange  reason  they  sup- 
pose an  audience  to  be  something  altogether  different 
in  kind  from  an  individual  listener.    They  do  not  regard 


324  THE  PULPIT 

it  as  merely  a  large  number  of  individuals  gathered  to- 
gether. They  regard  it  as  a  conglomerate  mass,  and 
therefore,  altogether  unlike  in  mind  and  temper  that  which 
it  would  be  if  it  were  separated  into  its  component  units. 
The  speaker  who  can  succeed  in  overcoming  this  feeling, 
and  learn  to  speak  to  an  audience  of  five  hundred  ex- 
actly as  he  would  speak  to  an  audience  of  one,  has  gone 
far  toward  mastering  the  art  of  extemporaneous  address. 
If  the  speaker  can  open  a  subject,  enlarge  upon  it,  and 
apply  his  thought  to  one  person,  he  can  do  so  equally 
effectively  to  a  thousand  persons.  The  very  best  practice 
therefore,  in  which  one  may  engage  in  order  to  become 
a  good  extemporaneous  preacher  is  practice  upon  one 
person,  provided  he  can  get  the  one  person  to  practise 
upon.  The  difference  between  addressing  a  number  of 
persons  and  a  single  person  is  incidental  and  extrinsic. 
Speech  is  somewhat  more  formal,  more  careful,  and  more 
deliberate,  otherwise  it  is  in  no  way  different  from  ordi- 
nary speech.  Mr.  Balfour  has  well  said,  "Public  speech  is 
simply  conversation  raised  to  a  higher  plane."  This 
comprehensive  principle  is  the  first  to  be  embraced  by 
the  extemporaneous  preacher. 

When  the  preacher  first  attempts  the  extempora- 
neous method  his  speech  is  very  likely  to  become  artificial 
and  involved.  It  seems  to  him  to  be  necessary  to  be 
very  rhetorical  and  very  oratorical,  and  he  is  consumed 
with  the  desire  to  say  what  he  has  to  say  in  studied 
phraseology,  whereas  if  he  would  pay  no  attention  to 
phraseology,  except  in  so  far  as  it  is  necessary  to  ex- 
press his  thought,  he  would  be  at  ease.  If  the  writer 
may  be  pardoned  in  referring  to  his  own  experience,  he 
would  say  that  he  preached  for  ten  years  from  a  manu- 
script; he  became  convinced  that  it  was  not  the  proper 
way    in    which    to    preach;    he    determined    to    preach 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        325 

without  notes.  For  several  weeks  it  was  a  dreadful  or- 
deal. The  effort  of  delivering  his  thought  after  the 
same  form  which  he  had  employed  in  his  written  dis- 
courses was  exhausting  in  the  extreme  and  was  scarcely 
successful.  One  day  he  said  to  himself,  as  by  a  sudden 
inspiration,  "I  will  not  attempt  to  preach  in  this  way 
again ;  I  will  simply  tell  the  people  what  I  have  in  mind 
in  such  language  as  I  would  employ  if  I  were  to  meet 
them  in  their  homes.  I  will  tell  it  to  them:  /  zi'ill  tell 
it  to  them."  He  did  so,  and  upon  the  first  occasion  he 
found  his  freedom,  and  from  that  time  on  extemporaneous 
preaching  has  been  for  him  no  great  effort.  He  has  often 
given  the  advice  in  like  terms  to  those  who  struggled 
with  the  same  difficulties  which  he  at  first  encountered. 
He  has  shown  them  the  way  out  in  the  words  he  employed 
for  himself,  "Tell  it  to  them;  just  tell  it  to  them." 

Prof.  Upson  of  Hamilton  College,  one  of  the  greatest 
teachers  of  elocution  which  this  country  has  ever  pro- 
duced, constantly  endeaveored  to  persuade  his  students 
to  deliver  their  orations  in  the  conversational  tone,  de- 
parting from  it  only  under  the  spur  of  feeling;  and  oc- 
casionally to  remind  the  student  of  his  desire,  he  would 
write  upon  the  margin  of  their  manuscripts  "L  and  G." 
He  explained  to  them  that  these  letters  stood  for  ''Ladies 
and  Gentlemen."  It  was  not  intended  that  they  should 
make  use  of  the  words  in  public  address,  but  only  that 
they  should  be  recalled  to  the  natural  and  unaffected 
style.  It  might  not  be  a  bad  idea  for  the  preacher  who 
finds  it  difficult  to  preach  without  notes  to  place  upon 
the  pulpit  before  him  these  letters,  "L  and  G."  The 
first  element  in  the  art  consists  in  speaking  to  a  multi- 
tude as  to  one  person. 

2.  The  art  consists  in  committing  to  one's  memory 
the  progress  of  the  thought  rather  than  particular  words 


326  THE  PULPIT 

or  phrases.  In  order  to  this  the  sermon  must  possess 
thought.  There  must  be  such  arrangement  as  that  one 
point  shall  suggest  the  next,  and  so  on  to  the  conclusion. 
One  reason  why  some  preachers  are  unable  to  master 
this  art  is  because  they  depend  upon  their  recollection 
of  the  form  of  words  employed  when  the  sermon  was 
in  course  of  preparation,  or  the  phraseology  of  the  manu- 
script which  they  have  prepared  but  laid  aside;  so  that 
when  they  come  into  the  pulpit  they  are  in  danger  of 
committing  one  of  two  errors,  either  of  resorting  to  mere 
recitation,  or  of  the  attempt  to  combine  that  which  they 
have  written  with  that  which  may  occur  to  them  on  the 
moment.  Such  dangers  are  positively  formidable  if  the 
extemporizer  does  not  learn  at  the  outset  to  guard  against 
them.  He  must  pay  -no  attention  whatsoever  to  pre- 
arranged words  or  phrases.  He  must  learn  to  throw  his 
sentences  into  various  forms.  He  must  be  able  to  sub- 
stitute one  kind  of  an  expression  for  another,  and  this 
is  what  we  call  "committing  the  thought."  Kern  has 
well  illustrated  this  in  his  chapter  upon  "Preparation 
for  the  pulpit."  He  says,  "Suppose  the  first  sentence  of 
your  sermon  to  be,  'This  parable  was  not  delivered  di- 
rectly to  either  the  disciples  or  the  multitude,  but  to  one 
man  only,  a  certain  lawyer,  or  a  scribe.'  The  memoriter 
preacher  endeavors  to  fix  this  very  thing  in  mind  so  that 
it  should  occur  to  him  in  the  pulpit  just  as  it  was  written. 
Not  so  the  extempore  preacher.  He  would  rather  avoid 
this,  so  he  says  to  himself,  'This  is  only  one  way  of 
expressing  the  thought.  There  are  other  ways,  and  the 
thought  itself  may  be  modified  in  this  or  that  manner, 
or  be  omitted  entirely.  I  may  say  in  preaching,  'Most 
of  our  Lord's  parables  were  spoken  to  a  company  of 
persons,  but  here  we  have  an  exception,'  or  I  may  say, 
'This  parable  was  addressed  to  one  man,  a  scribe,  who 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING         327 

stood  by  and  tempted  Jesus.'  Or  I  may  leave  out  this 
sentence  altogether;  no  matter;  I  am  free  to  say  what 
seems  best  at  the  time." 

This  principle  applies  to  the  entire  discourse.  It  is 
fulfilled  when  the  thought  which  the  preacher  desires 
to  utter  may  be  expressed  by  him  in  various  ways,  with- 
out his  being  tied  to  phraseology. 

Such  then  are  the  two  fundamental  elements  in  the 
art  of  extemporaneous  discourse — we  pass  to  others  in 
the  next  chapter. 


EXTEMPORANEOUS    PREACHING   MATERIAL. 


EXTEMPORANEOUS    PREACHING   MATERIAL. 

Material :    Its  acquisition,  arrangement,  and  use. 
Success  depends  upon: — 

(i)  Large  resources. 

(2)   At  command. 

I.  Acquisition  of  texts. 
Rumination. 

Use  of  an  abstract. 

II.  Arrangement  of  material. 

1.  Statement  of  subject. 

2.  Arrangement  of  divisions. 

III.  Use  of  material, 

1.  In  the  beginning  of  the  discourse. 

2.  Passing  from  the  introduction. 

3.  The  conclusion. 

IV.  Additional  suggestions. 

1.  Sermons  should  be  written  in  full. 

2.  Regard  to  the  element  of  time. 

3.  Freedom. 

4.  Avoidance  of  mannerisms. 

5.  Impromptu  additions. 


III. 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING.    MATERIAL; 

ITS  ACQUISITION,  ARRANGEMENT,  AND 

USE. 

Effective  extemporaneous  preaching  depends  upon 
having  an  abundance  of  well-digested  ideas,  and  upon 
facility  in  their  suitable  expression.  General  preparation, 
therefore,  is  vastly  more  important  than  any  special  prep- 
aration v^hich  the  preacher  may  make  for  a  given  serv- 
ice. Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  who  was  particularly 
gifted  in  impromptu  speech,  was  accustomed  to  say  that 
if  he  were  to  stake  his  life  upon  a  single  effort  he  would 
familiarize  himself  with  the  general  subject  and  then 
abandon  himself  to  the  impulse  of  the  moment.  If  a 
preacher  has  an  abundance  of  material  he  will  always 
be  ready  with  something,  in  the  delivery  of  which  he 
will  have  no  occasion  for  embarrassment.  These  requi- 
sites may* be  stated,  then,  as  follows: — First,  the  extem- 
poraneous preacher  must  possess  large  resources,  and, 
second,  he  must  have  them  fully  at  command. 

(i)  The  extemporaneous  preacher  must  have  large 
resources.  How  is  he  to  secure  them  ?  This  is  very  fully 
answered  in  Part  I,  Chapter  IX,  under  the  subject  of 
"Materials."  The  preacher  must  be  acquainted  with  the 
best  literature  upon  all  subjects.  There  must  not  merely 
be  books  upon  his  shelves,  but  books  that  have  been  read 
into  his  very  soul.  He  must  have  made  the  acq^iaintance 
of  good  men  and  had  large  fellowship  with  them.     He 

33» 


332  THE  PULPIT 

must  be  familiar  with  great  scenes,  great  buildings,  great 
pictures,  and  the  great  events  of  history. 

(2)  He  will  have  these  at  command  by  constant  medi- 
tation upon  them,  by  frequently  rehearsing  the  knowledge 
which  he  has  acquired.  It  will  be  well  for  him,  when- 
ever he  has  been  engaged  in  that  which  is  to  furnish  him 
with  material,  to  talk  about  it  as  occasion  offers.  Noth- 
ing is  so  sure  to  fix  information  in  the  mind  as  a  critical 
expression  of  opinion  with  regard  to  it  in  the  presence 
of  others.  It  will  be  well  for  him  in  addition  to  pay 
such  particular  attention  to  those  passages  in  books,  and 
to  other  matters  of  the  like  kind  as  command  special 
attention,  as  that  he  shall  virtually  commit  them  to  mem- 
ory and  have  them  upon  call. 

Thurlow  Weed  was  one  of  the  greatest  politicians 
which  this  country  ever  produced.  He  had  an  encyclo- 
paedic mind.  No  piece  of  information  with  regard  to 
political  affairs  escaped  its  grasp,  and  being  possessed 
also  of  a  good  judgment  his  advice  was  sought  by  the 
men  of  his  own  party,  and  his  criticisms  honestly  feared 
by  those  who  opposed  him.  He  selected  and  named  many 
men  for  office,  chief  of  them  the  great  Abraham  Lincoln 
himself.  How  did  he  come  into  possession  of  this  power? 
The  answer  is  a  very  simple  one:  he  was  accustomed 
at  the  close  of  each  day,  when  he  retired  to  his  home, 
to  talk  over  its  events  with  his  wife,  who  was  equally 
interested  with  himself  in  the  progress  of  political  affairs. 
It  was  this  daily  rehearsing  of  events,  and  this  daily 
comment  upon  them  that  gave  him  command  of  his  re- 
sources. 

But  general  preparation,  although  it  is  the  most  con- 
ducive to  success  in  extemporaneous  speech,  is  not  alto- 
gether sufficient.  There  must  be  special  preparation  in 
addition.    A  number  of  particulars  enter  into  this  special 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        333 

preparation.  Due  regard  must  be  paid  to  the  acquisition 
and  arrangement  of  material,  and  to  its  suitable  use. 

I.  Consider  its  acquisition.  This  relates  first  of  all 
to  the  preacher's  texts.  The  extemporaneous  preacher 
must  always  have  a  number  of  texts  in  hand.  Observe ; 
not  "on"  hand,  but  "in"  hand.  They  must  not  be  laid 
away  in  some  inaccessible  place,  in  some  notebook  per- 
haps which  the  preacher  never  consults,  or  in  any  place 
in  which  they  are  not  likely  to  come  again  and  fre- 
quently beneath  his  notice.  They  should  be  in  his  mind. 
He  should  recur  to  them,  review  them,  think  them  over, 
and  add  any  note  concerning  them  which  may  occur  to 
him  in  the  connection.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  a  book 
in  which  he  shall  record  the  texts  which  are  suggested 
to  him  from  time  to  time  with  plenty  of  blank  space 
between  them,  in  which  he  may  insert  any  thought  or 
argument  or  illustration  in  connection  with  them.  It  is 
never  well  for  an  extemporaneous  preacher  to  use  a  text 
which  has  been  recently  suggested  to  him.  In  the  vast 
majority  of  cases  he  will  succeed  much  better  if  he  defers 
preparation  upon  the  text  until  he  has  proved  it  by  keep- 
ing it  in  waiting  for  a  time.  The  best  texts  will  grow 
more  and  more  interesting,  and  secure  a  firmer  grasp 
upon  his  mind  and  heart  as  time  passes  by.  They  will 
keep.  It  may  be  said  in  general  terms  that  the  longer 
a  text  is  kept  the  better  will  be  the  sermon  that  is  pre- 
pared upon  it,  and  the  larger  will  be  the  preacher's  facil- 
ity in  handling  it,  though  we  would  not  press  this  mat- 
ter unduly. 

This  implies  that  the  extemporaneous  preacher  is  to 
"ruminate"  upon  these  texts:  an  admirable  word,  which 
corresponds  very  closely  in  the  intellectual  process  to 
the  physical  action  from  which  it  is  derived.  This  rumi- 
nation is  not  so  important  to  the  reader  of  a  manuscript 


334  THE  PULPIT 

as  it  is  to  him  who  speaks  without  notes.  Rumination 
is  not  so  much  formal  thought  as  the  dwelling  of  the 
mind  upon  the  subject  without  any  regard  to  its  sys- 
tematic development.  Oftentimes  a  text  strikes  the  one 
who  finds  it  with  a  great  deal  of  force,  so  much  so  that 
he  determines  to  preach  upon  it  at  once.  It  is  a  hazard- 
ous experiment.  He  finds  that  it  is  soon  exhausted; 
that  there  was  only  a  certain  feature  of  it,  or  a 
certain  element  in  its  thought  which  was  borne  in  upon 
his  mind  with  special  emphasis.  Or  it  may  be  that  it  is 
only  illustrative,  or  furnishes  no  more  than  a  certain  ex- 
ample. If,  now,  this  text  had  been  laid  aside  for  a  time, 
its  weakness  would  certainly  have  been  discovered. 

When  the  extemporaneous  preacher  has  selected  the 
text  upon  which  he  is  to  prepare  his  next  sermon,  he 
should  begin  work  upon  it  in  ample  season.  If  he  is  ac- 
customed to  prepare  a  sermon  every  week,  the  selection 
should  be  made  very  early  in  the  week  and  work  begun 
at  once.  Let  the  preacher  stick  to  his  selection  in  spite 
of  everything.  Very  much  is  often  lost  just  at  this  point. 
The  preacher  is  indeterminate  and  vacillating.  He  thinks 
at  the  beginning  of  the  week  that  he  will  preach  upon  a 
certain  text,  but  when  a  couple  or  so  of  days  have  passed 
by  he  discards  it  for  another.  Such  a  man  will  never 
make  a  good  extemporaneous  preacher;  because  in  order 
to  good  extemporaneous  preaching  there  must  be  an 
abundance  of  time  given  to  the  development  of  a  par- 
ticular subject.  Select  the  text  early  in  the  week,  con- 
centrate the  thought  upon  it;  turn  it  over  and  over  in 
the  mind.  Much  of  such  work  should  be  done  before 
the  preacher  begins  to  write.  It  is  quite  important  that 
he  should  work  the  text  into  his  own  mind  and  heart 
by  such  a  process,  that  the  sermon  when  it  is  finally 
prepared  may  be  the  outcome  of  his  very  soul. 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        335 

It  is  said  that  Hook  and  Lamb  were  once  walking 
together,  as  was  their  custom,  when  Hook  discovered  a 
sign  over  an  ale-house  kept  by  a  woman.  The  sign  read, 
"Wine,  Ale,  and  Beer,"  but  beer  was  spelled  b-c-a-r. 
"That  bear,"  said  Hook,  "appears  to  be  her  own  bruin." 
This  piece  of  humor  gives  the  exact  point  to  our  sug- 
gestion relative  to  the  preparation  of  an  extemporaneous 
sermon.  It  must  be  the  preacher's  own  brewing(bruin). 
The  sermon  should  be  brewing  for  some  two  or  three 
days :  then  it  should  be  studied  with  the  aid  of  any  helps 
which  the  preacher  may  command.  Then  he  should  ar- 
range his  material  in  order;  prepare  his  plan  and  write 
his  sermon  out  at  length.  He  should  not  occupy  too 
much  time  in  the  mechanical  work.  It  is  very  important 
to  the  man  who  preaches  without  notes  that  the  sermon 
be  flowing.  It  will  not  be  such  if  it  is  written  a  little 
piece  at  a  time  during  the  various  days  of  the  week.  But 
if  he  has  prepared  for  his  work  in  the  way  that  has  been 
suggested,  and  the  entire  sermon  is  written  at  two  or 
three  sittings,  at  the  most,  then  the  sermon  will  more 
likely  possess  the  quality  which  is  indispensable  to  ex- 
temporaneous discourse.  His  writing  should  be  finished 
at  least  by  Friday  noon.  Then  the  manuscript  is  to  be 
put  entirely  from  him,  and  Saturday  he  should  take  time 
in  which  to  ruminate  more;  go  over  the  sermon  as  he 
has  prepared  it  point  by  point,  but  never  twice  in  ex- 
actly the  same  language  or  scarcely  the  same  exact  order. 
This,  that  he  may  not  be  tied  to  phraseology  or  form. 
Let  not  the  preacher  imagine,  then,  that  extemporaneous 
discourse  requires  less  work.  This  sort  of  preaching  re- 
quires more;  but  he  who  willingly  engages  in  it  will  be 
richly  repaid.  When  Sunday  morning  comes  he  will  be 
ready. 

There  will  be  no  objection  to  preparing  a  brief  ab- 


336  THE  PULPIT 

stract  if  the  preacher  desires  to  do  so.  Sometimes  this 
is  advisable :  it  relieves  the  mind  of  an  undue  strain  uf>on 
the  memory.  But  the  abstract  should  be  very  brief.  It 
should  contain  nothing  but  the  main  points  of  the  ad- 
dress, and  nothing  in  it  should  be  in  the  exact  phrase- 
ology of  the  written  sermon,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  definitions  or  like  matter.  It  will  be  better  for  the 
preacher  if  he  learns  to  indicate  by  some  kind  of  catch- 
word the  thought  which  he  wishes  to  express.  In  mak- 
ing out  this  abstract  he  should  not  consult  his  manuscript 
until  it  has  been  finished.  Then,  perhaps,  it  will  not  be 
amiss  for  him  to  verify  the  abstract  by  reference  to  the 
written  sermon.  We  append  at  this  point  the  abstract 
of  a  sermon  in  order  to  illustrate  what  has  been  said  with 
regard  to  its  proper  character. 

Matt.  28 :  18-20. 

I.  Character. 

Not  original — ^new :  different. 

Niagara.    Trolley. 
The  Incarnation. 

Son— obedience. 
Temptation.     Miracles. 
Reinvested. 

II.  Uses  and  Purposes. 

Purposes  not  apart  from  character. 
Missionary  use  of  text. 
"All  things  whatsoever." 

Work  and  worship. 

His — ^yours. 

III.  Method  of  Dispensation. 

"Not  apart,"  again. 
Adds  force. 
Elisha's  staff. 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        337 


Power  not  all — presence. 

General.    Physician. 
Not  delegated. 
No  better  message. 


What  we  wish  to  show  from  this  abstract  is  that  no 
one  who  had  not  himself  prepared  the  sermon  could  pos- 
sibly discover  the  preacher's  line  of  thought.  It  is  known 
only  to  himself,  and  the  abstract  being  set  forth  in  the 
terms  which  are  shown,  it  in  no  wise  interferes  with  his 
absolute  freedom  of  utterance  or  his  choice  of  phrase- 
ology at  the  time  of  its  delivery. 

II.  The  arrangement  of  material. 

1.  The  preacher  in  arranging  his  material  for  use  in 
the  pulpit  should  first  of  all  be  careful  with  regard  to 
the  statement  of  his  subject.  A  suitable  subject  is  of 
much  more  importance  to  the  extemporizer  than  to  the 
reader.  It  is  better  framed  in  brief  terms,  but  no  hard 
and  fast  rule  can  be  given  with  regard  to  its  form.  Only 
it  must  be  such  a  setting  forth  of  that  with  which  the 
preacher  proposes  to  deal  as  that  it  shall  give  to  his  con- 
gregation a  comprehensive  grasp  of  the  intent  of  the 
whole  discourse. 

The  subject  thus  stated  will  suggest  to  the  preacher 
the  necessary  order  of  his  thought,  and  so  promote  the 
unity  of  his  discourse.  It  will  be  better  if  the  subject 
is  particularly  specific.  It  should  be  set  forth  not  in  broad 
and  general  terms,  but  in  precise  and  limited  ones.  The 
limitation  will  help  him,  not  hinder  him. 

2.  The  statement  of  the  divisions  of  his  discourse 
should  be  as  carefully  made  as  the  statement  of  the  sub- 
ject. We  may  set  it  down  as  certain  that  no  man  can 
preach  successfully  without  notes  who  is  not  absolutely 
methodical  in  the  utteramce  of  his  thought.     Dr.  Shedd 


23S  THE  PULPIT 

•ays  that  the  intellect  must  work  spontaneously  in  a  log- 
ical manner  in  order  to  successful  extemporaneous  preach- 
ing. Consecutive  reasoning  must  be  natural  to  the  mind. 
"Truth  must  be  logically  connected  and  related,  so  that 
its  separate  parts  are  unfolded  with  a  facile  and  effort- 
less precision."  The  separate  points  of  the  discussion 
should  follow  each  other  by  a  kind  of  necessity,  so  that 
the  one  shall  follow  the  other  as  a  matter  of  course.  The 
whole  sermon  becomes  like  a  row  of  bricks  set  up  in 
order.  The  falling  of  the  first  necessitates  the  falling 
of  the  rest. 

Each  separate  point  must  be  very  clear  and  precise 
like  the  subject  itself.  Their  mutual  relations  must  be 
close  and  intimate,  not  loose  or  superficial ;  and  they 
must  be  positively  progressive.  Bautain  says :  "Formerly 
the  fault  was  in  a  dialectical  turn  and  frequently  the 
style  became  spoiled  by  dryness,  heaviness,  and  an  appear- 
ance of  pedantry.  Still  men  knew  how  to  state  a  question 
and  how  to  treat  it.  They  knew  at  which  end  to  begin 
in  order  to  develop  it  and  solve  it,  and  the  line  of  argu- 
ment, distinctly  marked  out,  led  straight  to  the  object 
and  to  a  conclusion.  The  fault  nowadays  is  in  an  ab- 
sence or  deficiency  of  method.  People  remain  a  long 
time  before  their  subject  even  though  they  rightly  under- 
stand its  very  terms.  This  induces  interminable  prepara- 
tions, desultory  introductions,  a  disorderly  development, 
and  finally  no  conclusion  or  at  least  nothing  decisive." 

The  preacher,  therefore,  before  he  makes  his  abstract 
should  review  his  sermon  work  and  make  sure  that  its 
separate  parts  advance  in  a  methodical  manner.  In  order 
to  this  it  is  usually  better  that  the  sermon  should  be  con- 
structed upon  the  textual  plan.  This  is  because  the  sepa- 
rate parts  of  the  text  will  furnish  the  preacher  with  his 
separate  divisions,  and  he  is  not  likely  to  forget  their 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        339 

order,  or  violate  the  unity  of  his  plan.  Recur  to  the 
abstract  which  has  been  given.  The  text  is  the  Great 
Commission,  "All  authority  hath  been  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disci- 
ples of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit:  teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you : 
and  lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  The  subject  of  the  sermon  is  "The  Authority 
of  the  Risen  Christ."  The  first  division  is  "The  Charac- 
ter of  this  Authority  or  Power."  It  is  connected  with 
the  words,  "All  authority  hath  been  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  on  earth."  It  is  His  mediatorial  authority 
and  power.  The  second  division  is  "The  Uses  and  Pur- 
poses of  this  Power," — the  evangelizing  of  the  nations. 
The  third  division  is  "The  Method  of  Dispensation."  It 
is  immediate.  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world."  It  will  be  seen  that  the  textual  treat- 
ment in  this  instance  is  of  such  a  character  that  the 
preacher  can  never  forget  it,  and  if  he  has  made  sufficient 
study  of  the  text  his  material  will  always  be  in  hand. 
Dr.  Alexander  McLaren  has  a  sermon  upon  John  16:33. 
"Be--ofgood  cheer;  I  have  overcome  the  world,"  in  which 
the- same  principles  are  illustrated.  His  subject  is  "The 
Victorious  Life."  It  is  treated  topically,  but  in  a  way 
absolutely  adapted  to  the  uses  of  the  extemporaneous 
preacher.  He  proposes  three  questions:  First,  "What  is 
a- Victorious  Life?"  Second,  "Was  there  ever  such  a 
Liie?"  and  third,  "If  there  was,  what  does  it  matter  to 
mc?"    This  is  very  simple,  but  very  comprehensive. 

•  Gne  caution  should  be  observed  in  this  connection. 
It  is  a  great  mistake  for  the  extemporaneous  preacher  to 
multiply  his  divisions,  and  he  should  be  particularly  ap- 
prehensive of  subdivisions.    Let  him  remember  what  has 


340  THE  PULPIT 

been  already  said,  that  it  is  better  to  amplify  than  to 
multiply. 

III.  With  regard  to  the  use  of  material. 

1.  The  extemporaneous  preacher  should  be  particu- 
larly cautious  in  the  beginning  of  his  discourse.  He 
must  be  content,  when  he  first  begins  to  speak,  to  be 
very  modest  and  deliberate.  As  Dr.  Lyman  very  sug- 
gestively remarks,  "Even  on  the  ladder  that  reaches  to 
heaven  it  is  not  well  to  stand  half  way  up  the  ladder, 
above  your  people's  heads.  In  any  case  you  must  start 
with  them."  Let  him  begin  with  the  very  lowest  round 
in  the  ladder.  This  may  not  be  so  essential  to  the  reader. 
The  extempyorizer  must  be  willing  to  seem  weak  in  com- 
parison, in  the  beginning  of  his  discourse,  but  he  must 
be  conscious  of  having  a  reserve  or  he  will  not  be  able 
to  succeed. 

2,  The  process  of  passing  from  his  introduction  to  the 
discussion  of  his  theme  is  usually  the  most  difficult  thing 
for  the  extemporizer  to  manage.  It  is  here  that  he  is 
usually  wrecked  if  he  is  wrecked  at  all.  He  is  stranded 
upon  the  harbor  bar  as  he  leaves  for  the  deep  sea. 

What  is  his  safeguard  ?  Simply  this,  that  the  passage 
from  the  introduction  to  the  discussion  should  be  more 
carefully  thought  out  than  any  other  portion  of  the  dis- 
course. He  must  make  sure  of  it.  He  must  have  re- 
hearsed it  in  various  terms  in  private  before  he  appears 
in  the  pulpit.  It  will  not  do  for  him  to  say  as  a  certain 
preacher  was  once  heard  to  say,  "I  require  twenty  min- 
utes to  get  into  a  subject,  and  then  it  takes  twenty  min- 
utes to  get  out."  A  preacher  should  be  able  to  get  into 
his  subject  within  five  minutes  at  the  utmost,  usually 
within  two  or  three,  but  once  into  his  subject  let  him 
have  full  courage.  Let  him  not  think  of  sparing  his 
material.    If  he  has  prepared  for  the  pulpit  as  he  should 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        341 

have  done,  he  need  have  no  embarrassment  or  hesitation. 
Let  him  give  the  audience  the  best  that  he  has.  If  he 
has  really  struck  a  lode  he  need  not  fear  that  it  will  run 
out. 

But  suppose  that  at  some  point  in  his  discourse  his 
mind  suddenly  becomes  a  blank!  We  have  already  said 
that  this  is  one  of  the  disadvantages  of  this  form  of 
speaking.  What  is  he  to  do?  He  can  not  recall  the 
thought  which  was  next  in  order,  and  it  may  "be  a  very 
important  one.  All  his  ideas  seem  suddenly  to  have 
abandoned  him.  This  he  may  do :  assure  himself  that  he 
will  be  at  a  loss  for  a  moment  only,  if  he  maintains  his 
self-control.  He  may  certainly  trust  his  mental  proc- 
esses. If  his  mind  has  not  positively  given  way  it  will  as- 
sert itself.  He  may  be  sure  of  its  doing  so.  Let  him  not 
appear  disconcerted:  let  him  not  hesitate  or  stammer, 
but  let  him  in  an  easy  and  apparently  natural  way  use 
the  time  for  a  brief  moment  with  some  sort  of  harmless 
repetition  of  what  has  already  been  said,  some  needless 
amplification  of  a  point,  or  something  of  that  sort,  and 
the  thought  which  he  supposed  to  have  been  lost  will 
thrust  itself  upon  him.  Let  him  seize  it  at  once  and  pro- 
ceed. 

3.  With  regard  to  the  close  of  the  discourse,  let  him 
be  sure  to  stop  when  he  is  through  with  his  subject.  Some 
time  ago  an  article  appeared  in  one  of  our  magazines 
with  this  title,  "The  Fine  Art  of  Leave-Taking."  It  had 
respect  simply  to  the  social  custom,  and  spoke  in  a  very 
thoughtful  and  judicious  way  of  the  embarrassment  fre- 
quently caused  by  visitors  who  wear  out  their  welcome 
by  prolonging  their  farewells;  who  when  they  attempt 
to  leave  find  it  hard  to  do  so,  halt  and  hesitate,  introduce 
perhaps  a  new  subject  of  conversation,  even  rise  to  leave 
and  take  their  seat  again,  or  stand  a  while  at  the  door 


342  THE  PULPIT 

and  thus  defer  the  good-bye.  The  author  of  the  article 
suggested  that  visits  be  never  prolonged  beyond  a  suit- 
able time,  and  that  when  the  visitor  desired  to  leave  he 
should  rise  and  with  a  brief  remark,  as,  for  example,  "It 
is  time  I  should  be  going;  good  evening,"  take  his  de- 
parture without  more  ado.  The  same  fine  art  of  leave- 
taking  should  be  cultivated  by  the  extemporaneous 
preacher,  and  it  is  a  fine  art  indeed. 

It  often  happens  that  the  preacher  who  has  prepared 
his  sermon  with  great  care,  and  who  in  Itis^anuscripit 
has  brought  it  to  a  suitable  conclusion,  is  assail^dvw;hen' 
when  he  is  upon  his  feet  with  some  thought  which  he 
thinks  he  may  profitably  introduce  near  the  close.  It  is 
almost  always  a  misfit.  It  interrupts  the  progress  of  his 
thought,  it  impairs  its  unity,  and  it  is  generally  unprofit- 
able. Bautain  has  a  very  fine  passage  with  respect  to 
this  matter  which  he  calls  "After-growth,"  (see  pages 
280-281).  The  substance  of  his  remarks  is  this,  the 
preacher  feels  that  he  should  end,  but  he  has  a  confused 
feeling  of  something  which  has  been  omitted.  He  is 
anxious  to  recover  his  lost  ground,  and  he  begins  some 
new  development  when  he  ought  to  be  concluding.  The 
effect  upon  the  audience,  already  fatigued,  is  very  bad. 
It  becomes  impatient ;  it  ceases  to  listen,  or  possibly,  with 
a,  certain  interest  in  the  preacher,  the  audience  follows 
him  with  uneasiness  as  men  from  the  shore  watch  a  boat 
which  seeks  to  make  port  and  can  not.  "It  is  a  less  evil," 
says  Bautain,  "to  turn  short  round  and  finish  abruptly 
than  thus  to  tack  incessantly  without  advancing.  The 
greatest  of  a  speaker's  misfortimes  is  that  he  should  be- 
come a  bore." 

IV.  A  few  additional  Suggestions. 

I.  It  will  be  well  for  the  preacher  to  habitually  write 
out  his  sermons  in  full  before  delivering  them.     This 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        343 

suggestion  should  be  heeded  especially  by  the  younger 
preachers.  Although  Spurgeon  himself  in  his  later  min^- 
istry  never  wrote  his  sermons  in  full  before  entering  the 
pulpit,  yet  in  his  advice  to  students  he  says,  "I  recom- 
mend as  a  most  healthful  exercise,  and  as  a  great  aid 
toward  obtaining  extempore  power,  the  frequent  writing 
of  your  sermons.  Those  of  us  who  write  a  great  deal 
in  other  forms,  as  for  the  press,  may  not  so  much  rcr 
quire  that  exercise,  but  if  you  do  not  use  the  pen  in  other 
ways  you  will  be  wise  at  least  to  write  some  of  your  ser- 
mons and  revise  them  with  great  care.  Leave  them  at 
home  afterward,  but  still  write  them  out  that  you  may 
be  preserved  from  a  slipshod  style."  When  Spurgeon 
was  asked  by  Dr.  Cuyler  whether  he  wrote  his  sermons, 
he  answered,  "1  had  rather  be  hung."  But  Spurgeon 
obtained  the  same  discipline  by  his  frequent  use  of  the 
pen  in  the  expression  of  thought.  In  addition  to  this  he 
always  revised  his  sermons  as  taken  by  his  stenographer 
for  publication.  In  his  earlier  ministry  Spurgeon  him- 
self did  as  he  advised  his  students  to  do. 

The  old  proverb  has  it  "Reading  maketh  a  full  man, 
writing  an  exact  man,  speaking  a  ready  man."  Bautain 
says:  "The  pen  is  the  scalpel  which  dissects  the 
thoughts,  and  never,  when  you  write  down  what  you  be- 
hold internally,  can  you  yourself  succeed  in  clearly  dis- 
cerning all  that  is  contained  in  a  conception,  or  in  ob- 
taining its  well  marked  scope.  You  then  understand 
yourself."  In  a  certain  sense  the  thought  becomes  ob- 
jective, or,  as  some  would  put  it,  "concrete."  At  least 
it  presents  itself  to  us  in  a  very  different  way,  so  much 
so  that  one  will  often  refuse  to  say  what  he  expected  to 
say  after  he  has  seen  it  in  black  and  white.  Do  we  not 
sometimes  write  a  letter  according  to  the  very  notion 
which  we  have- in  mind,  but  afterwards  destroy  it  because 


344  THE  PULPIT 

we  discover  upon  writing  that  even  if  we  have  said  ex- 
actly what  we  expected  to  say  we  have  not  said  the  right 
or  proper  thing? 

Writing  reveals  our  deficiences.  We  suppose  that 
we  have  the  thought  clearly  in  mind,  but  when  we  at- 
tempt to  write  it  we  do  not  have  the  words  at  command 
for  its  expression.  We  may  then  pause  and  search  for 
the  proper  expression.  Whereas  if  we  were  to  enter 
the  pulpit  without  this  discipline,  the  hesitation  would 
occur  when  we  were  upon  our  feet,  to  our  own  embar- 
rassment and  to  the  annoyance  of  those  to  whom  we 
speak,  or  if  to  avoid  hesitation  we  hasten  to  use  the  im- 
proper word  the  very  point  which  we  are  anxious  to 
make  is  obscured  or  evaded. 

2.  Have  regard  to  the  element  of  time.  Those  who 
do  not  carefully  prepare  their  addresses  in  advance  are 
always  likely  to  err  in  this  respect  no  matter  how  long 
their  experience  may  have  been.  Before  entering  the  pul- 
pit the  preacher  should  always  ask  himself,  how  long  will 
it  require  for  the  utterance  of  this  particular  message? 
On  some  occasions  it  will  require  more  time  than  others, 
but  how  long  will  it  be  on  any  occasion  ?  How  many  min- 
utes shall  I  speak,  and  how  shall  I  divide  my  sermon  so 
that  it  may  be  properly  balanced  as  respects  time  ?  How 
long  shall  I  dwell  upon  the  first  division?  upon  the  sec- 
ond ?  and  so  on.  And  the  preacher  must  remember  that  he 
is  likely  to  elaborate  more  when  he  is  upon  his  feet,  and 
that  it  will  require  more  time  to  deliver  the  sermon  with- 
out notes  than  it  would  have  required  to  delivered  it 
from  a  manuscript. 

Amplification  must  be  most  carefully  studied  in  ex- 
temporaneous preaching.  The  preacher  should  cultivate 
his  ability  to  dwell  upon  an  important  point  or  principle 
until  he  can  perceive  from  his  observation  of  the  con- 


EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        345 

gregation  that  they  feel  the  whole  force  of  it.  But  some- 
times, because  the  preacher  himself  is  not  satisfied  that 
he  has  really  carried  his  point,  he  is  tempted  into  an 
amplification  which  is  really  not  amplification  at  all  but 
iteration  and  repetition,  and  so  the  time  slips  away  from 
him.  It  is  not  unusual  to  hear  one  say  something  like 
this,  "Now  I  have  dwelt  so  long  upon  this  point  that 
I  shall  be  obliged  to  curtail  my  remarks  upon  the  next." 
This  is  a  confession  of  extempore  weakness.  The 
preacher  who  makes  it  is  an  undisciplined  preacher.  He 
has  not  learned  to  be  governed  by  what  he  himself  has 
prepared,  but  has  introduced  extraneous  and  often  un- 
important matter.  Uncontrolled  fluency  is  a  positive 
blemish  in  extemporaneous  discourse.  Josh  Billings,  has 
summed  up  the  whole  matter  in  one  of  his  suggestive 
mots:  "If  a  man  bores  half  an  hour  in  one  place  and 
does  not  strike  anything,  one  of  two  things  is  the  matter ; 
either  he  is  not  boring  in  the  right  place,  or  he  has  not 
got  a  good  auger." 

3.  It  is  very  important  for  the  extemporaneous 
preacher  to  enter  the  pulpit  with  the  largest  possible  free- 
dom. If  he  is  to  succeed  in  any  measure  he  must  be 
in  a  certain  sense  careless  of  results.  If  he  is  fearful 
or  hesitant  with  regard  to  his  theme,  or  the  way  in  which 
he  is  to  express  himself,  or  the  possible  effect  upon  his 
congregation,  he  will  be  the  more  likely  to  fail.  Let  him 
be  content  for  the  time  being  to  summon  to  his  aid  the 
best  that  he  has  in  hand,  and  deliver  himself  of  it  with- 
out apprehension.  Once  upon  his  feet  let  him  cast  away 
concern  for  everything  except  God's  help  and  blessing. 
Especially  let  him  be  very  careless  with  regard  to  any 
criticism  which  he  imagines  may  be  passed  upon  his 
thought  or  his  delivery.  If  it  be  not  so,  he  can  not 
succeed.     A  most  interesting  story  is  told  in  this  con- 


346  THE  PULPIT 

nection  of  the  celebrated  Baptist  minister,  the  Rev,.  Dr. 
P.  S.  Hanson,  not  only  a  great  preacher  but  a  great  wit. 
The  story  well  illustrates  the  point  which  we  are  trying 
to  make.  On  one  occasion  he  was  himself  conscious  of 
the  fact  that  his  thoughts  did  not  flow  as  freely  as  usual, 
but  he  would  not  permit  himself  to  be  embarrassed  on  that 
account.  When  he  descended  from  the  pulpit,  one  of  his 
parishioners  came  to  him  and  with  assumed  humility 
remarked,  "Well,  Doctor,  I  was  quite  sorry  for  you  this 
morning.  What  was  the  matter  with  you?"  "Nothing 
whatever,"  replied  the  Doctor.  "Oh,"  said  the  parish- 
ioner, "I  am  glad  to  hear  that,  but  something  seemed  to 
me  to  be  going  wrong  with  you."  "No,"  replied  the 
Doctor,  "nothing  went  wrong."  "Well,  I  thought  per- 
haps you  were  not  feeling  well  or  something  of  the  sort, 
for  you  seemed  to  have  lost  your  liberty."  "Well,  my 
good  friend,"  said  the  Doctor,  "you  have  evidently  not 
lost  yours;"  and  the  parishioner  retired  discomfited. 

Hosee  Bigelow  remarks,  "Folks  that's  afeared  to  fail 
are  sure  of  failin'."  More  than  this,  the  audience  often- 
times will  not  discover  that  the  preacher  is  ill  at  ease, 
and  many  times  his  apprehensions  are  altogether  need- 
less. Let  him  not  attempt  to  cover  up  his  embarrass- 
ment by  prolonging  his  sermon.  Let  him  not  be  anxious 
to  fill  the  usual  time  consumed  by  it.  If  he  has  forgotten 
one  half  of  what  he  has  prepared,  and  can  not  command 
it  when  he  is  upon  his  feet,  let  him  not  worry  with  re- 
gard to  it.  Let  him  preach  what  he  can  preach  easily 
and  without  embarrassment,  and  stop. 

4.  The  preacher  should  be  on  his  guard  agamst  cer- 
tain bad  mannerisms  into  which  the  extemporaneous 
preacher  is  very  apt  to  fall.  With  very  few  exceptions, 
men  who  preach  without  notes  adopt  certain  favorite 
words  or  expressions  which  they  use  again  and  again 


EXTSMPORANEOUS  PREACHING        347 

and  again;  or  they  contract  a  habit  of  qualifying  their 
statements  because,  when  they  are  first  uttered,  they  do 
not  sound  to  them  exactly  correct  or  forcible,  and  they 
are  obliged  to  interpolate  "That  is  to  say"  or  "In  other 
words"  or  something  of  the  kind.  Sometimes  they  make 
use  of  needless  connectives,  especially  in  the  introduction 
of  sentences  which  have  not  been  carefully  thought  out. 
How  very  often  would  they  find  such  words  as  these 
in  a  shorthand  report  of  their  addresses:  "Now,"  "Now 
then,"  "Well  then,"  "Again,"  "To  proceed"  and  so  forth. 

Some  extemporaneous  preachers  have  a  strange  hesi- 
tancy in  the  utterance  of  their  sentences,  often  shown 
even  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence  with  a  peculiar  drawl 
or  the  prolongation  of  the  final  syllable  in  a  word ;  pauses 
which  are  not  rhetorical,  and  a  break  in  the  delivery 
which  indicates  that  the  word  desired  is  not  at  command. 
This  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  preacher  has  not 
learned  to  think  by  phrases  and  sentences,  but  is  deliver- 
ing himself  only  of  words  or  brief  clauses,  and  attempting 
to  form  a  sentence  by  adding  the  one  to  the  other.  This 
results  in  a  sort  of  staccato,  which  is  annoying  both  to 
preacher  and  people.  It  can  be  easily  avoided  if  the 
preacher  will  not  start  upon  a  sentence  until  he  has 
thought  it  through  and  knows  exactly  how  it  is  to  be 
framed  and  finished.  When  first  suggested  it  might  seem 
that  this  would  require  considerable  time,  and  render 
the  preacher's  phrases  altogether  too  deliberate  but  such 
is  not  the  case.  It  requires  the  briefest  instant:  the  time 
consumed  by  foreseeing  the  thought  is  negligible,  but  the 
practice  once  adopted  will  entirely  correct  the  hesitancy 
to  which  we  have  just  referred. 

5.  The  last  suggestion  to  be  made,  in  order  to  effect- 
ive extemporaneous  preaching,  is  that  the  preacher  avoid 
the  introduction  into  his  sermon  at  any  point  of  extended 


348  THE  PULPIT 

paragraphs  embodying  the  thought  which  occurs  to  him 
suddenly  while  he  is  upon  his  feet.  They  may  appear 
to  him  most  attractive,  but  they  are  usually  only  a  blem- 
ish upon  his  discourse.  They  lead  to  digression.  They 
carry  the  people  away  from  the  subject  in  hand.  This 
remark  applies  particularly  to  cheap  anecdotes,  or  flashes 
of  enticing  but  useless  wit. 

In  an  article  on  "Public  Speaking,"  in  the  Saturday 
Evening  Post,  United  States  Senator  Albert  J.  Beveridge 
says :  "It  is  a  remarkable  thing  that  there  is  neither  wit 
nor  humor  in  any  of  the  immortal  speeches  that  have 
fallen  from  the  lips  of  man.  To  find  a  joke  in  Webster 
would  be  an  offense.  The  only  things  which  Ingersoll 
wrote  that  will  live  are  his  oration  at  his  brother's  grave 
and  his  famous  'The  Past  Rises  Before  Me  Like  a  Dream.' 
But  in  neither  of  these  productions  of  this  genius  of 
jesters  is  there  a  single  trace  of  wit.  There  is  not  a 
funny  sally  in  all  Burke's  speeches.  Lincoln's  Gettysburg 
address,  his  first  and  second  Inaugurals,  his  speech  be- 
ginning the  Douglas  campaign  and  his  Cooper  Union 
address  in  New  York  are,  perhaps,  the  only  utterances 
of  his  that  will  endure.  Yet  this  greatest  of  story-tellers 
since  ^sop  did  not  adorn  or  deface  one  of  these  great 
deliverances  with  story  or  any  form  of  humor.  The 
reason  for  this  is  found  in  the  whole  tendency  of  human 
thought  and  feeling — in  the  whole  melancholy  history 
of  the  race — where  tears  and  grief,  the  hard  seriousness 
of  life  and  the  terrible  and  speedy  certainly  of  our  com- 
mon fate  of  suffering  and  of  death  make  somber  the 
master-chord  of  existence.  The  immortal  things  are  all 
serious — even  sadl'* 


ATTENTION:   PRELIMINARIES. 


ATTENTION:    PRELIMINARIES. 

Attention  the  indispensable  condition  of  effective  speech. 
Attention  defined. 

It  is  not  mere  silence. 

Nor  interest  in  the  general  subject. 

But  mental  application  with  a  view  to  instruction. 

I.  The  Source  of  Attention. 

1.  It  is  in  the  preacher  alone. 

2.  It  is  not  a  condition  but  a  result. 

3.  It  resides  not  in  "magnetism"  but  in  mtthod. 

II.  Preliminary  Considerations. 

1.  Pulpit  and  Furniture. 

2.  The  Room. 

3.  The  Preacher  himself. 

When  all  things  are  ready,  he  may  begin. 


Read  Pitch's  "Art  of  Securing  Attention;"  Arnold's  "Attention  and  In- 
terest;" James'  "Talks  to  Teachers,"  X  and  XI;  Quayle's  "Pastor- 
Preacher"  (Wonder);  Buckley's  "  E^^temporaneous  Oratory"  (Atten- 
tion}. 


IV. 

ATTENTION:   PRELIMINARIES. 

Attention  is  the  indispensable  condition  of  all  effect- 
ive speaking.  Its  logical  place  in  the  matter  of  pulpit 
delivery  is  first.  This  agrees  with  many  statements  of  the 
Scripture  upon  the  subject.  "He  that  hath  ears  to  hear, 
let  him  hear,"  "Come,  ye  children,  hearken  unto  me:  I 
will  teach  you  the  fear  of  Jehovah."  The  Savior  Himself 
used  words  in  connection  with  certain  of  his  parables 
(see  Matt.  15:  10)  which  the  preacher  might  well  adopt 
as  his  guiding  motto — "Hear  and  understand."  It  would 
be  well  if  they  were  printed  in  large  type  and  set  before 
his  eyes  upon  all  occasions.  Will  he  so  speak  that  the 
people  shall  hear  easily  and  readily  ?  and  will  he  so  speak 
that  they  shall  understand  and  desire  more? 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  preachers  do  not  always 
hold  their  audiences,  and  even  when  they  do,  their  ser- 
mons, and  sometimes  the  very  texts,  are  forgotten  by 
the  people.  A  preacher  sometimes  congratulates  him- 
self upon  the  fact  that  his  sermons  can  be  repeated  after 
a  comparatively  short  interval  without  being  recognized. 
He  should  rather  commiserate  himself.  It  is  evident  that 
he  has  not  had  the  attention  which  he  should  have  sought 
and  received. 

What  then  is  attention?  This  preliminary  question 
should  be  carefully  answered  because  some  things  are 
taken  for  attention  which  do  not  deserve  the  name.  Mere 
silence  is  not  attention.     It  is  said  sometimes  of  an  au- 

351  • 


352  THE  PULPIT 

dience  that  one  "can  hear  a  pin  drop."  This  is  no  sign 
that  the  audience  is  really  attending  to  the  words  of 
the  preacher.  Possibly  they  are  asleep ;  possibly  they  are 
deeply  engrossed  with  other  subjects.  At  all  events, 
silence  is  not  attention.  There  is  silence  in  a  grave- 
yard. Neither  is  an  interest  in  the  general  subject  at- 
tention. One  may  display  considerable  interest  in  the 
theme  which  the  preacher  announces  and  follow  him 
very  carefully,  while  real  attention  is  not  secured.  Some- 
times their  eyes  may  be  upon  him,  and  they  may  be  ap- 
parently listening  with  eagerness  to  the  words  which  he 
speaks,  when  their  minds  are  not  following  his  thought. 
Professor  James,  in  illustrating  this  matter,  tells  a  very 
amusing  story  of  a  teacher,  who  told  him  that  upon  one 
occasion  when  she  was  giving  a  lesson  she  was  delighted 
at  having  captured  so  completely  the  attention  of  one 
of  her  young  pupils.  He  did  not  remove  his  eyes  from 
her  face.  But  after  the  lesson  was  over  he  disabused 
all  her  impressions  by  saying  to  her,  "I  looked  at  you  all 
the  time  you  were  talking,  and  your  upper  jaw  did  not 
move  once."  That  was  the  only  fact  which  he  had 
taken  in. 

Attention  is  positive  mental  application.  The  mind 
which  is  engaged  with  it  is  diligent  and  active.  More 
than  that,  it  is  intelligently  employed  with  a  view  to 
instruction.  Nothing  less  than  this  is  worthy  of  the  name 
of  attention. 

The  particular  art  in  securing  this  attention  is  to 
so  awaken  this  mental  effort  that  it  shall  be  as  natural, 
as  easy,  and  as  delightful  as  possible.  Herbert  Spencer 
founds  the  whole  theory  of  effective  public  speech  upon 
what  he  calls  the  "economy  of  the  mental  force  of  the 
hearers."  This  means  that  their  mental  force  should 
not  be  subject  to  an  undue  strain.    It  must  not  be  taxed 


ATTENTION:    PRELIMINARIES  353 

beyond  that  which  it  will  bear.  The  best  attention, 
strained  beyond  its  limit,  is  lost.  One  made  a  very 
significant  remark  with  regard  to  a  certain  book  in  which 
he  had  become  interested,  that  it  "read  down-hill."  So 
it  must  be  with  public  speech.  It  must  move  down-hill, 
at  least  at  times,  and  even  though  the  preacher  may 
induce  his  congregation  to  climb  some  very  steep  as- 
cents, there  must  be  occasionally  such  frequent  easy  de- 
scent that  what  might  be  called  the  mental  muscles  shall 
be  rested  by  their  relief  from  prolonged  strain. 

I.  We  consider  first  the  source  of  attention. 

I.  The  source  of  attention  is  in  the  preacher  alone; 
that  is  to  say,  it  is  in  the  preacher  alone  at  the  outset 
of  the  discourse.  The  conditions  may  be  somewhat  al- 
tered as  the  discourse  proceeds,  but  in  the  beginning  the 
preacher  is  wholly  responsible. 

It  will  not  do,  therefore,  for  him  to  say,  "The  sub- 
ject is  of  great  importance,"  or  "The  people  ought  to 
listen  to  the  discussion  of  this  theme."  This  may  be 
very  true,  but  it  does  not  minister  to  attention.  The 
remark  of  Beecher's  is  in  place  in  this  connection.  When 
he  was  asked  how  he  felt  when  he  saw  some  one  asleep 
in  his  congregation — did  he  not  feel  like  sending  some 
one  to  wake  him  up?  Beecher  replied,  "No,  I  think 
some  one  should  be  sent  to  wake  me  up." 

"Can  you  sell  goods,"  said  the  merchant  to  an  ap- 
plicant for  the  position  of  clerk.  "Yes,  sir,"  was  the 
reply,  "I  can  sell  goods  to  any  one  who  wishes  to  buy." 
"You  are  not  the  man  I  want,"  replied  the  merchant, 
"Any  one  can  sell  goods  to  a  man  who  wishes  to  buy. 
The  true  salesman  is  one  who  can  sell  goods  to  one  who 
does  not  wish  to  buy." 

Let  the  preacher  understand  then  that  he  can  not 
demand  attention,  he  can  not  entreat  attention,  and  he 


354  THE  PULPIT 

oug-ht  not  even  to  invite  it  except  under  very  unusual 
circumstances.  Professor  James  says,  "Do  not  beg  at- 
tention as  a  favor,  nor  claim  it  as  a  right,  nor  endeavor 
to  incite  it  by  preaching  the  importance  of  the  subject. 
Sometimes,  indeed,  you  must  do  these  things,  but  the 
more  you  are  obliged  to  do  them  the  less  skillful  you 
show  yourself  to  be."  "Lend  me  your  ears"  may  some- 
times be  in  place  when  there  is  prejudice  to  be  over- 
come, or  distracting  conditions  to  be  met,  or  something 
of  the  like,  but  ordinarily  nothing  of  the  kind  is  properly 
in  place. 

2.  Attention  is  not  the  condition  of  good  preaching, 
but  the  result.  There  are  audiences  which  have  the  rep- 
utation of  being  good  listeners.  They  have  been  well  dis- 
ciplined by  the  preachers  who  have  ministered  to  them, 
or  they  have  been  so  accustomed  to  those  who  secured 
their  attention  in  the  proper  way  that  they  have  learned 
to  give  it,  even  when  it  is  improperly  sought.  But  the 
fact  that  they  are  good  listeners  is  no  credit  to  the  preacher 
who,  for  this  reason,  secures  their  attention,  and  if  he 
does  not  proceed  upon  proper  principles  he  will  undo 
the  good  which  his  predecessors  have  done. 

Let  no  one  say,  then,  as  he  enters  the  pulpit,  "If  the 
people  will  listen  I  shall  preach  well."  Let  him  rather 
say,  "If  I  preach  well,  the  people  will  be  sure  to  listen." 
This  should  be  his  gauge  of  the  quality  of  his  own  effort. 
If  he  is  quite  sure,  from  the  interest  and  intelligence 
expressed  in  the  countenances  of  those  before  him,  that 
they  are  applying  themselves  to  the  truth  which  he  is 
presenting  he  may  be  content,  otherwise  not. 

But  as  we  have  already  suggested,  attention  is  the 
first  result  of  good  preaching,  and  when  it  is  thus  gained 
it  becomes  also  the  condition.  But  it  must  be  firsit  gained. 
Then    it    unqestionably    helps    the    preacher,    as    every 


ATTENTION:    PRELIMINARIES  355 

preacher  will  testify.  And  yet  it  is  only  the  condition 
to  a  certain  extent,  and  at  no  point  in  the  discourse 
is  it  so  much  the  condition  as  the  result,  because  the 
condition  will  not  long  continue  if  the  result  does  not 
continuously  appear. 

3.  Attention  resides  not  so  much  in  "magnetism"  as 
in  method.  Herein  we  lay  bare  a  very  common  error, 
and  yet  one  for  which  there  is  some  show  of  reason. 
Unquestionably  some  speakers  have  a  greater  power  be- 
cause of  some  mysterious  faculty  of  public  speech  which 
we  can  not  fully  define.  The  very  tones  of  their  voice 
are  appealing,  the  play  of  the  countenance  is  attractive, 
and  the  flow  of  language  is  naturally  so  engaging  that 
the  people  listen  often  in  spite  of  themselves.  We  say 
this  is  magnetism.  There  is,  indeed,  considerable  power 
in  it.  But  what  we  wish  to  emphasize  is  this,  that  there 
is  not  nearly  so  much  power  as  has  been  credited  to  it. 
Poets  may  be  "born,  not  made,"  but  it  is  not  so  as  a 
rule  with  public  speakers.  Good  public  speakers  are 
largely  the  product  of  training.  We  say  "public 
speakers ;"  because  we  wish  to  distinguish  between  those 
men  who  seem  to  be  particularly  gifted,  and  those  upon 
whom  no  special  genius  has  been  bestowed.  Orators  are 
in  a  sense  "born,"  but  some  orators  are  poor  public 
speakers.  Not  every  man  can  be  an  orator  in  the  full 
sense  in  which  that  word  is  commonly  understood,  but 
any  man  and  every  man  who  has  the  ordinary  degree 
of  talent  can  become  a  good  public  speaker — interesting, 
instructing,  and  molding  the  thought  of  those  who  hear 
him,  if  he  will  submit  to  suitable  training.  There  is  no 
reason,  therefore,  why  any  one  who  proposes  to  become 
a  preacher  should  be  discouraged. 

Still  further,  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  say  at 
any  stage  of  his  progress  whether  he  is  an  orator  or 


356  THE  PULPIT 

not.  The  gifts  of  oratory  do  not  always  appear  at  the 
first.  There  are  too  many  instances  on  record  of  those 
who  positively  failed  in  their  attempts  to  sway  an  audience 
in  the  early  portion  of  their  career  who  yet  became  pro- 
ficient in  oratorical  arts  and  influences.  To  prohibit  any 
dogmatism  on  this  subject,  the  old  story  of  Demos- 
thenes may  be  recalled.  We  may  also  remember  that 
when  Disraeli  made  his  first  address  in  the  House  of 
Commons  he  was  received  only  with  derision,  and  they 
would  not  hear  him.  But  we  are  told  that  he  shook  his 
fist  in  the  faces  of  his  hearers  and  exclaimed,  "The  time 
will  come  when  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  me!" 

Even  so  may  it  be  with  some  in  whom  the  gifts  of 
oratory  have  not  as  yet  appeared,  and  no  one  need  de- 
spair of  attaining  them. 

n.  Some  preliminary  considerations,  H  the  preacher 
is  to  secure  the  attention  of  his  congregation  there  are 
certain  matters  to  which  he  must  pay  regard  before 
he  utters  his  first  word.  The  comprehensive  question 
in  this  connection  is  this,  "Am  I  ready  to  begin?"  And 
this  involves  yet  another  question,  "Are  all  things  ready 
for  me  to  begin  ?"  Let  us  consider  them  then  in  inverse 
order,  naming  first  certain  matters  outside  the  preacher's 
own  self. 

I.  The  pulpit,  its  furniture,  and  its  surroundings. 
Is  everything  in  place,  and  are  there  no  distractions  to 
divert  the  attention  of  the  people?  Is  the  Bible  open 
to  the  page  from  which  the  text  is  to  be  taken  ?  Is  there 
anything  to  be  adjusted?  and  so  on. 

One  of  the  most  usual  and  unnecessary  means  of 
diverting  attention,  strange  to  say,  is  the  arrangement 
of  flowers  about  the  pulpit.  The  writer  is  a  great  lover 
of  flowers,  and  it  is  his  delight  to  see  them  brought  into 
the  house  of  God  for  its  adornment ;  but  very  frequently 


ATTENTION:    PRELIMINARIES  357 

they  are  so  placed  that  the  people  can  not  fail  to  notice 
them,  to  admire  them,  and  perhaps  to  study  them,  even 
while  the  sermon  is  beginning,  and  certainly  during  its 
progress.  Sometimes  they  interrupt  the  range  of  vision, 
so  that  certain  parishioners  can  not  see  the  preacher's 
face  for  the  intervening  flowers. 

2.  The  room.  Is  the  light,  the  heat,  and  the  ventilation 
so  arranged  as  that  there  shall  be  no  disturbance  while 
the  sermon  is  in  progress?  If  it  is  an  evening  service 
and  the  congregation  have  found  it  necessary,  in  order 
to  economy,  to  turn  out  certain  of  the  lights  when  the 
people  do  not  need  them  for  their  own  use,  by  all  means 
let  the  preacher  wait  for  this  to  be  done  before  he  arises 
to  his  feet.  If  there  are  windows  to  be  opened  or  closed, 
or  registers  to  be  adjusted,  let  this  be  attended  to  before 
the  sermon  begins. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  congregation  shall  all  have 
arrived  before  the  sermon  is  begun.  If  late-comers  appear 
they  should  never  be  shown  to  advanced  seats.  There 
should  be  no  walking  up  the  aisles  by  any  one  when 
the  preacher  rises  to  address  the  people. 

The  audience  also  should  be  properly  distributed. 
This  is  in  most  churches  the  work  of  the  ushers,  particu- 
larly where  the  church  is  frequented  by  a  number  of 
strangers.  They  should  not  be  largely  seated  in  one 
section  of  the  church  to  the  neglect  of  another. 

The  preacher  should  not  rise  to  his  feet  to  announce 
his  text  until  the  people  themselves  are  ready  for  him 
to  begin.  There  is  an  exact  moment  for  which  he  should 
wait,  and  beyond  which  his  rising  should  not  be  pro- 
longed. Perhaps  they  have  just  sung  a  hymn,  and  have 
been  standing  upon  their  feet.  Let  him  give  them  time 
to  take  their  seats  and  to  adjust  themselves  to  their 
positions.    Let  him  wait  until  the  general  coughing  that 


358  THE  PULPIT 

often  follows  congregational  singing  is  finished.  Let 
him  delay  until  that  precise  point  when  they  turn  their 
eyes  to  the  pulpit  almost  with  one  consent,  as  much  as  to 
say  "We  are  ready."     Then  let  him  rise  and  begin. 

3.  Now  as  to  the  preacher  himself.  Is  he  ready? 
Is  his  dress  such  as  not  to  distract  attention?  We  have 
referred  to  this  under  Pulpit  Manners.  Let  the  sugges- 
tions made  in  that  chapter  be  observed  in  connection 
with  this  matter.  Let  him  by  no  means  call  attention  to 
anything  whatsoever  in  his  dress  or  person.  Let  him 
not  pull  down  his  cuffs,  pull  out  his  watch,  finger  his 
necktie,  adjust  his  moustache.  Let  him  not  even  turn 
the  leaves  of  his  Bible  in  a  preliminary  way.  The  place 
from  which  he  is  to  preach  should  have  been  already 
found.  Let  him  not  rise  with  his  notes  in  his  hand  to 
adjust  them  to  their  plac.e  upon  the  pulpit;  they  should 
be  already  there.  Let  him  have  clearly  in  mind  the 
very  words  with  which  he  is  to  introduce  his  text,  and 
as  he  glances  over  his  congregation  the  moment  before 
the  text  is  to  be  announced,  let  them  read  in  his  counte- 
nance his  positive  preparation  for  the  work  which  he  has 
in  hand. 

Said  Commodore  Dewey  to  the  captain  of  the  Olympia 
just  before  the  battle  of  Manila  Bay,  "Captain,  whenever 
you  are  ready  you  may  begin  firing."  Even  so  the 
preacher. 


SECURING  AND  HOLDING  ATTENTION 


SECURING  AND  HOLDING  ATTENTION 

I.  Say  something  at  once, 

(i)  That  is  worth  hearing. 

(2)  That  the  audience  shall  think  worth  hearing. 

Announcing  the  text. 

The  next  utterance. 

II.  The  concrete  before  the  abstract. 

III.  Promote  curiosity. 

The  "Sense  of  Wonder." 

IV.  Holding  the  attention  gained. 
Expectation.     Desire. 

V.  The  three  qualities  of  discourse. 


iV!. 
SECURING  AND  HOLDING  ATTENTION 

We  now  suppose  that  the  preacher  is  ready  and  may 
"begin  firing." 

He  must  be  sure  before  he  opens  his  mouth  that  he 
will  be  certainly  heard,  heard  easily,  and  heard  pleasantly. 
His  opening  sentences  must  not  be  incomprehensibile  on 
any  account,  either  of  matter  or  manner.  His  opening 
words  must  be  well  chosen,  and  so  uttered  that  no  effort 
shall  be  required  to  identify  them.  Sometimes,  as  Dr. 
Buckley  remarks,  the  preacher  begins  under  an  accumu- 
lation of  energy  resulting  from  temporary  excitement. 
His  nervous  equilibrium  is  disturbed.  Consequently  he 
employs  one  of  two  objectionable  tones,  either  his  voice 
is  pitched  too  high  or  too  low.  He  begins  with  a  shriek 
or  murmur.  But  to  attain  high  success  the  speaker  must 
be  heard  agreeably.  There  should  be,  if  possible,  music 
in  his  voice.  There  must  not  be  any  positively  objection- 
able features.  The  vital  thing  for  him  to  consider  is  that 
all  hearing  is  voluntary,  and  that  nowhere  outside  of  a 
state's  prison  is  the  presence  of  the  auditor  obligator}'  • 
and  listening  compulsory.  Attention  may  be  destroyed  in 
the  opening  sentence  by  a  disagreeable  manner  or  a  dis- 
agreeable voice. 

This  matter  having  been  suitably  attended  to,  certain 
rules  may  be  given  for  the  securing  of  attention- at  the 
outset. 

I.  Say   something  at  once.     "Real   attention,"   says 
361 


362  THE  PUtPIT 

Fitch,  "must  always  be  founded  on  the  fact  that  you  have 
something  to  say  which  is  worth  hearing,  and  that  you 
say  it  in  such  a  way  that  the  hearer  shall  feel  it  to  be 
worth  hearing." 

Observe  the  two  elements  in  this  statement.  They 
are  related  to  both  matter  and  manner.  As  to  matter, 
the  subject  must  claim  attention  for  itself,  not  the  preacher 
for  the  subject,  "Real  attention  must  always  be  founded 
on  the  fact  that  you  have  something  to  say  which  is  worth 
hearing."  And  yet  while  the  preacher  does  not  claim  at- 
tention for  the  subject  by  any  formal  method,  he  does 
do  so  by  the  way  in  which  he  says  that  which  is  worth 
hearing.  He  makes  no  positive  plea.  His  plea  is  in  his 
manner.  The  attention  of  his  congregation  will  largely 
depend  upon  his  very  first  utterance.  One  of  the  most 
impressive  openings  of  an  address  to  which  the  writer 
ever  listened  was  made  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  C.  McClel- 
land of  Pittsburg  at  the  memorial  service  for  President 
McKinley,  in  the  Shadyside  Presbyterian  Church.  When 
he  rose  to  speak  he  advanced  deliberately  to  the  front 
of  the  platform  at  the  side  of  the  pulpit,  and  in  a  voice 
that  could  be  distinctly  heard  by  every  one  present  he 
said,  "We  were  so  busy  with  our  occupations  and  our 
prosperity,  and  he  was  so  busy  with  his  official  cares  and 
duties,  that  we  did  not  know  how  much  we  loved  him 
until  that  fateful  afternoon  when  he  thrust  his  hand  into 
his  bosom  and  drew  it  forth  reddened  with  his  own 
blood."  As  these  words  were  uttered  the  preacher  illus- 
trated them  with  his  gesture.  He  slowly  thrust  his  own 
hand  into  his  bosom  and  drew  it  forth  again.  The  ges- 
ture was  not  descriptive,  but  rather  emphatic,  and  the 
effect  upon  the  audience  was  indescribable. 

But  one  will  say  that  the  first  utterance  is  usually  the 
quotation  of  the  text.     This   is  true.     In  what  sense. 


SECURING  AND  HOLDING  ATTENTION    363 

then,  will  the  maxim  of  Professor  Fitch  apply?  How 
can  it  be  said  with  regard  to  the  text  that  it  must  be 
worth  hearing,  and  that  it  must  be  said  in  such  a  way 
that  the  hearer  shall  feel  it  to  be  worth  hearing?  Is  not 
the  text  always  worth  hearing?  No,  not  necessarily. 
Of  course  there  is  a  sense  in  which  every  text,  which 
is  the  very  Word  of  God,  is  emphatically  worth  hearing, 
but  the  occasion,  the  place,  the  preacher,  the  people, 
have  very  much  to  do  with  the  quality  of  the  text,  apart 
from  its  position  and  meaning  in  its  connection  in  the 
Word  of  God.  If  it  is  not  skillfully  chosen,  so  that  it 
is  suited  to  its  purpose  under  present  circumstances,  it 
is  not,  in  the  sense  in  which  we  use  the  words,  worth 
hearing. 

But  suppose  it  to  be  eminently  adapted  to  the 
preacher's  use,  and  to  the  people  whom  he  addresses. 
The  important  question  still  remains.  Will  they  feel  it 
to  be  worth  hearing?  Much  depends  upon  the  answer 
to  this  question.  In  order  to  insure  attention  it  must 
be  properly  announced  and  well  uttered.  If  a  preacher 
begins  by  indicating  the  portion  of  Scripture  from  which 
it  is  taken,  this  should  be  done  in  a  suitable  way.  There 
are  many  in  every  congregation  who  desire  to  remember 
where  the  text  is  found,  yet  many  preachers  announce 
their  texts  in  such  a  way  as  to  positively  preclude  their 
recollection  of  the  place.  Oftentimes  the  verse  is  given 
first,  the  chapter  second,  and  the  book  last,  as  when  the 
preacher  rapidly  says,  "My  text  will  be  found  in  the 
twenty-first  verse  of  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  the  book 
of  Proverbs."  The  inverse  order  should  always  be  fol- 
lowed. The  name  of  the  book  should  be  given  first,  the 
number  of  the  chapter  second,  and  the  number  of  the 
verse  last,  and  there  should  be  a  slight  pause  between 
each  announcement,  after  this  fashion,  "My  text  is  found 


364  THE  PULPIT 

in  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  *  *  *  the  25th  chapter,  *  *  * 
the  2 1  St  verse."  It  will  not  be  necessiary  to  repeat  this 
if  it  is  properly  uttered.  Then  follows  the  quotation  of 
the  text.  Let  it  be  done  deliberately,  simply,  but  im- 
pressively. 

Shall  the  text  itself  be  repeated  in  order  to  atention? 
Ordinarily  not,  because  if  the  preacher  leads  the  people 
to  believe  that  the  text  is  usually  to  be  repeated  they 
will  fail  to  give  it  proper  attention  upon  its  first  quotation. 

It  is  the  custom  of  many  English  preachers  to  repeat 
their  text  for  a  special  reason,  especially  if  it  be  one 
embracing  several  sentences.  When  it  is  quoted  the 
first  time  it  is  for  purposes  of  simple  information,  that 
the  people  may  have  the  mere  words  of  the  quotation. 
Then  it  is  repeated  the  second  time  with  certain  proper 
inflections  and  emphasis  in  order  to  bring  out  its  special 
meaning  and  application.  Some  preachers  have  been 
known  to  repeat  their  texts  more  than  twice  with  in- 
creasing emphasis,  and  in  the  hands  of  some  men  this 
adds  power  to  the  announcement.  It  is  usually,  however, 
a  dangerous  expedient,  and  it  is  far  better  for  the  ordinary 
preacher  to  quote  his  text  but  once,  but  to  quote  it  in 
such  a  way  that  the  principle  already  announced  shall  be 
fulfilled. 

Following  the  text  comes  the  first  uterance  of  the 
preacher.  That  he  may  secure  the  attention  of  the  con- 
gregation it  is  highly  important  that  he  attack  his  text 
at  once  in  the  manner  which  has  been  already  shown  in 
Part  I,  Chapter  V.  In  this  respect  the  first  sentence 
which  the  preacher  utters  is  certainly  the  most  important 
in  the  entire  sermon.  Let  him  indicate  at  once  what  he 
proposes  to  talk  about,  and  let  his  subject  be  stated  in 
such  terms  that  it  shall  foreshadow  his  entire  discussion. 
The  first  sentence  must  be  germane,  positive,  weighty. 


SECURING  AND  HOLDING  ATTENTION    365 

and  worthy.  The  people  will  then  feel  that  he  has  some- 
thing to  say  upon  this  text  which  it  is  worth  their  while 
to  hear. 

II.  In  order  to  gain  attention  the  preacher  must  in- 
troduce the  concrete  before  he  proceeds  to  the  abstract. 
In  the  opening  paragraphs  of  his  sermon,  and  for  some 
little  time,  say  three  to  five  minutes,  there  should  be 
no  abstruse  statement,  no  philosophic  proposition,  no  the- 
ological formulas — nothing  of  this  sort,  but  something 
that  shall  relate  to  persons,  scenes,  or  things,  and  not 
to  what  is  ordinarily  called  "thought." 

One  of  the  finest  illustrations  of  this  rule  which  has 
fallen  under  the  writer's  observation  was  a  sermon  de- 
livered by  President  J.  D.  Moffat  in  his  hearing.  His 
text  was  Col.  2 : 8,  "Take  heed  lest  there  shall  be  any  one 
that  maketh  spoil  of  you  through  his  philosophy  and  vain 
deceit,  after  the  tradition  of  men,  after  the  rudiments 
of  the  world,  and  not  after  Christ."  If  ever  there  was 
a  temptation  for  a  preacher  to  begin  a  sermon  with  a 
philosophic  statement  here  was  one.  But  the  preacher 
upon  this  occasion  was  a  master  of  the  art  of  pulpit 
rhetoric,  and  his  opening  sentence  was  in  these  words, 
"That  against  which  the  apostle  warns  us  in  this  text 
is  not  philosophy,  but  a  man  with  a  philosophy."  The 
audience,  who  might  have  anticipated,  when  the  text  was 
announced,  some  metaphysical  discussion,  were  at  once 
set  at  ease ;  their  positive  prejudices  were  immediately 
allayed.  The  concrete  was  presented  to  their  notice, 
"a  man  with  a  philosophy." 

III.  It  is  important  that  the  preacher  in  his  opening 
paragraphs  should  promote  the  curiosity  of  the  audience. 
We  use  this  word  "curiosity"  with  hesitation,  but  there 
is  no  other  term  which  will  take  its  place.  Let  it  be 
understood  then  that  it  is  not  used  in  the  sense  of  idle 


366  THE  PULPIT 

curiosity,  but  in  that  of  diligent  enquiry.  "What  does 
it  mean?  What  will  he  say  about  it?"  "Curiosity," 
says  Archbishop  Whateley,  "is  the  parent  of  attention." 
Many  illustrations  could  be  given  of  the  service  which 
it  performs.  H.  Clay  Trumbull  testifies  that  the  first 
preacher  who  secured  his  immediate  attention  in  his 
younger  days  was  a  converted  Jew.  In  broken  English  he 
announced  the  words  of  his  text  before  saying  where 
it  was  found.  "And  ven  dey  hurd  dat  he  shpake  in  de  He- 
brew tong  to  dem,  dey  kep  de  more  silance."  These  words 
in  their  peculiar  fitness  to  the  man  and  the  hour  com- 
manded the  attention  of  others  in  the  audience  besides 
Trumbull  himself.  Dr.  M.  B.  Riddle  began  an  address 
upon  the  public  opening  of  the  theological  seminary, 
with  the  quotation  of  a  text  so  singularly  appropriate 
to  the  time,  and  so  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  his  own 
record  and  work,  that  it  commanded  at  once  the  atten- 
tion of  the  congregation  which  he  addressed.  This  text 
was  in  the  words  of  the  the  chief  captain  who  was  bring- 
ing Paul  from  the  Temple  court  into  the  castle,  Acts 
21 :  37,  "Dost  thou  know  Greek?" 

The  great  value  of  this  principle  is  derived  from  the 
fact  that  the  mind  of  the  worshiper  is  always  disposed 
to  listen  to  that  which  satisfies  its  need.  It  is  truly 
hungry,  anxious,  and  inquiring.  The  preacher  who  takes 
advantage  of  this  condition  will  certainly  secure  attention. 

One  of  the  writer's  students,  some  years  ago,  was 
called  to  recite  upon  this  point.  The  teacher  asked, 
"What  next  is  required  in  order  to  command  attention." 
The  student,  who  was  a  Scotch-Irishman,  roared  out 
his  answer  in  marked  accent,  "make  them  wander!" 
(wonder).  The  class  was  convulsed  with  laughter. 
Even  the  professor  could  not  restrain  himself.  Never- 
theless the  student  had  aptly  and  emphatically  expressed 


SECURING  AND  HOLDING  ATTENTION    367 

a  gfreat  principle.  Bishop  Quayle  enlarges  upon  it,  in 
a  chapter  whose  heading  is  "Keeping  alive  the  sense  of 
wonder."  Referring  to  Ezekiel's  vision  he  says,  "When 
wonder  is  dead  the  soul  is  become  a  dry  bone."  And 
again,  "The  preacher's  credential  is  that  he  is  alive  to 
wonder."  In  such  aphorisms  is  wrapped  up  a  store 
of  instruction  in  the  art  of  securing  attention.  From 
first  to  last  the  interesting  preacher  keeps  alive  the 
sense  of  wonder.  It  is  not  simply  that  his  theme  brings 
him  into  touch  with  what  are  ordinarily  called  "mys- 
teries" and  "miracles,"  but  that  in  all  spiritual  matters 
he  leads  his  hearers  to  the  very  edge  of  wonders  more 
wonderful  than  these;  just  as  Jesus  with  Nicodemus, 
when  he  aroused  his  wonder  over  such  a  commonplace 
thing  as  the  sighing  of  wind. 

The  principles  which  have  been  given  find  complete 
illustration  in  many  of  the  addresses  recorded  in  the 
Scripture,  none  better  from  any  mere  man  than  Paul's 
sermon  on  Mars'  Hill.  He  had  something  to  say  that 
was  worth  hearing.  He  presented  the  concrete  before 
the  abstract,  and  he  aroused  the  curiosity  of  his  hearers. 
"Ye  men  of  Athens,  in  all  things  I  perceive  that  ye 
are  very  religious.  For  as  I  passed  along,  and  observed 
the  objects  of  your  worship,  I  found  also  an  altar  with 
this  inscription,  To  an  unknown  God.  What,  therefore, 
ye  worship  in  ignorance,  this  I  set  forth  unto  you." 
Let  the  reader  examine  these  opening  sentences  in  the 
light  of  the  principles  which  have  been  announced. 

The  Savior  Himself,  however,  is  the  supreme  illustra- 
tion of  these  principles.  He  certainly  recognized  the 
fact  that  the  source  of  attention  was  in  Himself  rather 
than  in  His  hearers,  and  He  never  talked,  even  as  His 
great  apostle  once  did,  to  a  sleepy  listener.  Never  be- 
fore, nor  since,  has  any  one  said  so  much  that  was 


^68  THE  PULPIT 

worth  hearing  in  a  way  which  led  the  hearer  to  believe 
that  it  was  worth  hearing.  Never  before,  nor  since,  has 
the  concrete  been  so  wisely  and  impressively  used  to 
convey  the  lessons  of  the  abstract;  and  never  before, 
nor  since,  has  curiosity  been  so  whetted  by  a  teacher's 
words.  When  Jesus  began  to  speak  to  the  people  He 
called  attention,  first  of  all,  to  the  birds  of  the  air,  or 
the  lilies  of  the  field.  When  He  would  instruct  Simon 
His  host.  He  addressed  to  him  the  question,  "Seest  thou 
this  woman?"  "Behold,  a  sower  went  forth  to  sow" 
were  His  first  words  by  the  seaside.  We  do  not  need 
to  multiply  the  illustrations.  Jesus  did  not  ask  attention 
for  His  cause  or  the  subject.  They  secured  it  for  them- 
'  selves.  When  Jesus  began  He  began,  that  was  all.  With- 
out delay,  without  circumlocution,  and  without  apology. 
The  preacher  should  follow  His  example. 

IV.  The  attention  having  been  once  secured  by  the 
means  which  we  have  indicated,  how  is  it  to  be  held? 
How  shall  a  congregation  be  induced  to  give  continuous 
attention  until  the  sermon  is  finished?  The  best  writers 
upon  this  subject  indicate  two  things  which  must  follow 
the  initial  curiosity,  and  continue  to  the  end  of  the  dis- 
course. These  are  expectation  and  desire.  The  skillful 
speaker  begins  with  that  which  is  entirely  known,  but 
proceeds  to  that  which  is  partly  known  and  partly  un- 
known. The  known  elements  in  the  preacher's  discourse 
are  combined  with  great  skill  with  those  elements  that 
are  but  partly  known.  So  it  was  with  the  apostle  Paul's 
address  upon  Mars'  Hill.  He  began  with  the  altars  in 
common  use,  and  immediately  connected  them  with  the 
altar  to  the  unknown  God.  This  at  once  produced  ex- 
pectation and  stimulated  desire.  The  audience  looks  for- 
ward under  such  circumstances  to  a  situation  which  is 
not  immediately  present,  but  which  it  awaits  with  feel- 


SECURING  AND  HOLDING  ATTENTION    369 

ings  of  anticipation,  and  sometimes  of  anxiety.  The 
desire  to  have  the  expectation  gratified  is  aroused.  Arnold 
likens  it  to  the  pot  of  gold  at  the  foot  of  the  rainbow, 
only  that  it  has  a  reality  when  once  reached.  But  its 
presentation  lures  the  audience  on.  The  perspective  sit- 
uation arouses  their  minds  to  positive  activity.  Their 
interest  in  the  subject  passes  beyond  their  own  control. 
They  are  in  the  hands  of  the  speaker :  he  moves  them 
at  his  own  will. 

Herein,  then,  will  be  found  the  connection  with  the 
principle  announced  in  the  opening  of  the  preceding 
chapter,  in  our  definition  of  attention.  The  mental  ap- 
plication of  the  hearer  is  stimulated  with  a  view  to 
the  instruction  which  he  expects  to  receive.  His  interest 
impels  his  mental  effort,  and  if  this  interest  be  properly 
controlled  he  is  led  into  an  intellectual  state  of  pleasure 
and  of  ease.  His  intellectual  effort  becomes  a  positive 
delight.    Herein  lies  the  secret  of  holding  attention. 

But  the  preacher  must  remember  meanwhile  that  the 
strain  upon  the  mental  effort  of  his  listeners  can  not  be 
unduly  prolonged.  Professor  James  says:  "A  little  in- 
trospective observation  will  show  anyone  that  voluntary 
attention  can  not  be  continuously  sustained.  It  comes 
in  beats.  The  mind  tends  to  wander.  Its  attention  must 
every  now  and  then  be  again  secured  by  distinct  pulses 
of  effort  which  revivify  the  topic  for  a  moment,  until 
some  intercurrent  idea  captures  it  and  takes  it  off.  Then 
the  processes  of  recall  must  be  repeated  once  more.  Vol- 
untary attention,  in  short,  is  only  a  momentary  affair. 
The  process,  whatever  it  is,  exhausts  it  self  in  the  single\ 
act,  and  unless  the  matter  is  then  taken  in  hand  by  some  j 
trace  of  interest  inherent  in  the  subject,  the  mind  fails/ 
to  follow."  The  remedy  for  this  mental  wandering  is 
found  in  variet^^   The  subject  must  be  made  to  show 


370  THE  PULPIT 

new  aspects  of  itself.  The  curiosity  must  be  transferred 
to  some  other  point  or  some  other  aspect  of  the  theme. 
New  questions  must  be  promoted  and  new  ideas  sug- 
gested. The  attention  wanders  when  the  subject  is  un- 
changed, and  this  may  be  attested  in  the  simplest  possi- 
ble way.  One  may  test  it  for  himself.  Let  him  endeavor 
to  attend  steadfastly  to  some  dot  in  the  paper  on  the 
wall.  He  can  do  it  for  a  very  few  moments.  Either 
his  field  of  vision  becomes  blurred  so  that  he  sees  noth- 
ing distinctly,  or  else,  no  matter  how  hard  he  tries,  he 
has  involuntarily  ceased  to  look  at  the  dot  in  question 
and  is  looking  at  something  else.  Yet  his  attention  may 
be  continued  by  suggesting  new  and  different  questions 
with  regard  to  the  dot.  How  large  is  it?  How  far 
is  it  from  the  eye?  What  is  its  shape,  its  color?  How 
is  it  related  to  other  figures  in  the  wall-paper?  Is  it 
part  of  a  pattern?  Is  it  often  repeated?  and  so  forth. 
If  the  observer  turns  it  over  in  various  ways,  and  with 
various  associations,  he  can  keep  his  mind  upon  it  for 
a  comparatively  long  time,  and  this  is  exactly  what  the 
skillful  speaker  does  with  the  theme  which  he  presents 
to  his  hearers.  He  varies  the  method  of  presenting  it. 
He  bids  his  audience  look  at  it  from  one  side  and  from 
another.  He  interrupts  their  continued  thought  with 
some  interesting  illustration.  He  associates  it  with  some 
other  interesting  subject,  and  so  on.  In  this  way  the 
hearer's  own  mental  activity  is  promoted.  Relief  from 
continuous  strain  is  afforded,  and  if  to  this  be  added  oc- 
casional recapitulation  of  the  truth  presented,  but  stated 
in  some  other  form,  the  attention  will  not  be  likely  to 
flag.  These  principles  relating  to  the  holding  of  an  at- 
tention once  secured  are  fully  illustrated  in  the  preach- 
ing of  Jesus.  The  activity  of  His  hearers  was  always 
promoted,  sometimes  in  ways  which  the  preacher  in  the 


SECURING  AND  HOLDING  ATTENTION    371 

pulpit  can  not  adopt,  as  when  the  disciples  were  in- 
structed to  distribute  the  bread  to  the  hungry  multitude, 
or  the  scribes  were  sent  to  bring  the  tribute  money.  And 
as  to  variety,  when  was  it  ever  so  beautifully  displayed 
as  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus?  Parable  and  miracle,  the 
formal  and  the  colloquial,  the  city  and  the  desert,  the 
land  and  the  sea.  We  could  form  many  such  antitheses. 
Every  address  had  variety  in  itself,  and  each  was  a 
change  from  every  other.  How  the  example  of  Jesus 
should  shame  the  dull  monotony  which  too  often  char- 
acterizes the  preaching  of  His  ministers! 

V.  In  conclusion,  then,  in  order  to  hold  attention  the 
sermon  must  display  those  three  necessary  qualities  of 
a  discourse  to  which  we  have  already  referred — unity, 
organization,  and  progress ;  but  progress  more  particu- 
larly. The  preacher  must  begin,  he  must  then  continue, 
and  he  must  finish.  These  three  things  should  be  ap- 
parent to  those  to  whom  he  speaks  as  plainly  as  though 
he  were  to  say  to  them,  "I  now  begin  my  discourse;  I 
now  proceed  to  continue  the  elaboration  of  my  thought ; 
I  now  propose  to  finish  what  I  have  to  say." 


PART  III. 
VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS. 


THE  NARRATIVE  SERMON. 

Instruction  by  means  of  example. 

I.  Material  must  be  arranged  in  sermonic  form. 

II.  The  subject  must  be  stated  in  religious  terms. 

III.  The  divisions  likewise. 

IV.  The  historical  material  should  be  employed  only  so 

far  as  it  relates  to  the  subject. 
Historical  imagination. 


Read  Brottdus,  Part  I,  Chap.  VI ;   Watkinson'a  Sermona ;  McKeil's  Sermons. 


I. 

THE  NARRATIVE  SERMON. 

In  the  Narrative  Sermon  instruction  is  conveyed  by 
means  of  example.  It  deals  with  some  Biblical  character 
or  some  Biblical  scene.  In  structure  and  method  it  is 
the  simplest  form  of  sermonizing,  but  even  so  it  is  often 
the  most  interesting  and  the  most  profitable.  This  is 
because  there  are  very  many  among  the  preacher's  audi- 
tors to  whom  spiritual  truth  is  very  much  more  palatable 
when  it  is  associated  with  living  material.  We  are  al- 
ways interested  in  biography,  even  in  common  conversa- 
tion. The  incidents  which  are  associated  with  one's  ex- 
perience are  frequently  told  and  gladly  heard.  The  little 
child  is  never  more  amused  than  when  he  climbs  into 
his  father's  lap  and  requests  some  story  of  his  childhood. 
Just  so  in  sermonizing.  Many  a  truth  to  which  little 
attention  would  be  given,  if  conveyed  in  abstract  form, 
becomes  not  only  acceptable  but  positively  enjoyable  when 
it  is  associated  with  actual  life. 

It  is  important  in  order  to  the  suitable  preparation  of 
the  narrative  sermon  that  the  preacher  should  be  in  pos- 
session of  all  the  Scriptural  facts.  Full  information  must 
be  had  to  begin  with.  The  relation  of  these  facts  to  each 
other  should  be  distinctly  understood,  and  the  main  fact 
about  which  the  others  revolve  should  b«  very  particu- 
larly identified.  Having  possessed  himself  of  these  facts 
the  preacher  may  subject  the  preparation  of  his  dis- 
course to  certain  rules  such  as  the  following: 

375 


376  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

I.  He  should  arrange  his  material  in  sennonic  form. 
The  discourse  is  not  to  be  a  "lecture,"  but  a  "sermon." 
If  he  is  engaged  in  the  construction  of  a  lecture  he  may 
content  himself  with  an  orderly  review  of  consecutive 
events.  This  will  make  a  narrative,  but  not  a  narrative 
sermon.  Narrative  is  all  well  enough  in  its  proper  place, 
and  there  may  be  occasions  when  the  preacher  will  de- 
sire only  this ;  but  a  sermon  must  be  something  else  and 
something  more.  It  is  intended  to  arouse  the  conscience, 
act  upon  the  will,  and  persuade  to  belief  and  action.  It 
requires  much  more  skill  to  construct  a  narrative  ser- 
mon than  a  mere  narrative,  but  the  effect  will  be  much 
the  more  emphatic  and  permanent. 

It  is  one  of  the  notable  peculiarities  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture that  its  characters  are  essentially  human.  Although 
its  men  and  women,  many  of  them,  lived  in  ages  long 
gone  by,  yet  their  actions  may  be  so  presented  as  that 
they  shall  seem  to  be  our  contemporaries.  Even  Cain, 
the  first-born  of  the  race,  is  not  an  antediluvian  when 
viewed  through  eyes  that  are  capable  of  seeing  that  which 
he  holds  in  common  with  all  mankind.  He  is  a  postdi- 
luvian. His  indifference  to  sin,  his  self-righteousness,  his 
jealousy,  his  anger,  his  self-justification,  and  much  else, 
are  found  in  the  men  whom  we  know  to-day.  Therefore 
a  narrative  sermon,  though  it  deals  with  Cain,  may  be 
as  fully  up-to-date  as  though  Cain  had  but  just  departed 
this  life. 

II.  The  subject  of  the  sermon  should  be  stated  in  reli- 
giotis  texnis.  This,  because  it  is  a  sermon  and  not  a  mere 
narrative.  It  is  the  statement  of  this  subject  in  terms 
that  are  applicable  to  human  life  as  we  see  it,  that  gives 
the  sermon  its  immediate  value  in  its  very  opening  sen- 
tences. To  announce  a  title  which  is  merely  historical, 
or  associated  only  with  the  scene  or  the  man  which  fur- 


THE  NARRATIVE  SERMON  377 

n-ishes  the  example,  is  to  defeat  the  preacher's  object  at 
the  outset. 

And  yet  the  subject  must  have  direct  reference  to  the 
scene  which  is  to  be  described  or  to  the  man  whose  char- 
acter is  to  be  employed  for  the  purposes  of  the  sermon. 
Take,  for  example,  such  a  text  as  this,  Ex.  5 :  22,23, 
"And  Moses  returned  unto  Jehovah,  and  said,  Lord, 
wherefore  hast  thou  dealt  ill  with  this  people?  Why 
is  it  that  thou  hast  sent  me  ?  For  since  I  came  to  Pha- 
raoh to  speak  in  thy  name,  he  hath  dealt  ill  with  this 
people ;  neither  hast  thou  delivered  thy  people  at  all." 
This  text  is  purely  historical.  There  is  no  exhortation 
in  it..  No  duty  is  commanded ;  no  grace  commended ;  no 
doctrine  presented.  How  then  shall  the  subject  be  stated 
in  sermonic  form?  If  the  preacher  announces  his  sub- 
ject in  some  such  terms  as  this,  "The  Complaint  of 
Moses,"  the  subject  is  a  historical  one  and  open  to  objec- 
tion ;  since  it  relates  wholly  to  the  past.  But  let  the  sub- 
ject be  announced  as  "The  Delay  of  Divine  Deliverance," 
and  every  hearer  will  feel  its  immediate  present  appli- 
cation and  force.  Or  take  2  Tim.  i :  5,  "Having  been 
reminded  of  the  unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  thee;  which 
dwelt  first  in  thy  grandmother  Lois,  and  thy  mother  Eu- 
nice; and,  I  am  persuaded,  in  thee  also."  The  subject 
may  not  be  "The  Parentage  of  Timothy,"  but  "The  En- 
tail of  Faith." 

And  yet  sometimes  the  subject  may  be  stated  in  terms 
that  appear  to  be  merely  historical  when  they  are  not. 
For  example,  Heb.  1 1 :  22,  "By  faith  Joseph,  when  his 
end  was  nigh,  made  mention  of  the  departure  of  the 
children  of  Israel ;  and  gave  commandment  concerning 
his  bones."  The  subject  in  this  case  may  be  "The  Faith 
of  Joseph,"  and  it  will  be  apparent  that  the  preacher  pro- 
poses to  discourse  not  upon  Joseph's  faith  as  a  strictly 


378  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

individual  characteristic,  but  upon  such  faith  as  that 
which  Joseph  showed,  and  which  we  ourselves  may  well 
show  in  imitating  his  example. 

III.  The  sermonic  principle  must  be  applied  to  the 
statement  of  the  separate  divisions  of  the  sermon  also. 
They  should  not  be  divisions  of  the  scene,  or  of  the  life 
of  the  man  under  consideration,  but  divisions  of  the  ser- 
monic subject  which  has  been  announced.  And  yet  as 
the  subject  of  the  sermon  must  be  directly  related  to  the 
character  employed,  so  also  the  divisions  of  the  subject 
must  have  direct  reference  to  the  successive  events  in 
the  man's  life,  or  the  successive  elements  of  the  scene. 
Recur  to  the  text  from  Exodus.  One  may  not  take  for 
his  subject  "The  Delay  of  Deliverance,"  and  then,  re- 
turning to  the  historical,  announce  as  his  first  division, 
"The  Complaint  of  Moses;"  for  his  second,  perhaps, 
"The  Severe  Treatment  of  Pharaoh;"  and  for  his  third, 
"The  Answer  of  Jehovah ;"  but  better  to  divide  the  sub- 
ject as  follows:  i.  How  this  delay  may  be  interpreted 
by  the  wicked  and  unbelieving,  (as  Pharaoh).  2.  How 
it  may  be  interpreted  by  God's  own  people,  (as  Moses). 
3.  How  it  will  be  interpreted  by  God  Himself,  (as  shown 
in  His  great  and  complete  deliverance). 

IV.  The  historical  material  should  be  employed  only 
so  far  as  it  has  to  do  with  the  subject ;  and 

V.  It  should  be  employed  in  strict  connection  with  the 
progress  of  the  thought.  Certain  particulars  with  regard 
to  these  two  points. 

1.  The  introduction  should  make  use  of  no  more  of 
the  historical  material  than  is  necessary  to  make  the  situ- 
ation intelligible.  Certain  general  statements  may  be  em- 
ployed with  very  little  of  the  detail. 

2.  In  the  separate  divisions  as  they  progress  only  that 
historical  material  should  be  employed  which  is  immedi- 
ately connected  with  each  division. 


THE  NARRATIVE  SERMON  379 

3.  The  preacher  should  reserve  for  the  appHcation  or 
conclusion  of  the  sermon  that  which  was  the  culmination 
of  the  career,  or  the  crown  of  the  character  employed. 

It  is  very  important  to  avoid  anticipation  in  this  mat- 
ter. It  is  not  necessary  for  the  preacher  to  follow  the 
events  of  the  Scripture  passage  in  historical  order.  It  is 
not  well  for  him  to  tell  the  whole  story  at  the  outset.  All 
the  material  is  to  be  disposed  according  to  the  demands  of 
the  subject  as  it  is  developed.  If  he  finds  this  difficult, 
it  is  generally  because  his  subject  is  not  well  chosen,  or 
his  divisions  are  improperly  arranged.  In  one  word,  the 
subject  should  be  made  the  governing  factor  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end. 

The  method  may  be  set  forth  by  means  of  a  some- 
what extended  illustration  better  than  by  any  formal 
rules.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  text  is  taken  from  Paul's 
address  before  King  Agrippa,  Acts  26 :  27,  "King 
Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  prophets?  I  know  that  thou 
believest."  The  subject  at  once  announced  is  not  "Paul 
Before  Agrippa,"  or  "The  Apostle's  Defense,"  or  any 
such  thing,  but  "Our  Deeper  Convictions."  The  subject 
is  first  given  and  explained.  The  introduction  is  occu- 
pied with  a  very  brief  statement  of  Paul's  arrest,  and  his 
experiences  during  his  two  years'  imprisonment,  closing 
with  some  account  of  Festus'  confessed  inability  to  deal 
with  his  case,  the  arrival  of  Agrippa,  and  the  proposi- 
tion that  Agrippa  should  have  an  opportunity  to  hear 
him,  the  trial  in  brief  and  the  q*uestions  of  the  text.  It 
is  then  asked,  "Why  do  not  men  yield  to  their  deeper 
convictions?"  If  we  may  discover  why  Agrippa  did  not 
yield  to  his  convictions  we  may  be  able  to  answer  the 
question  for  ourselves.  There  were  two  principle  rea- 
sons why  the  king  was  false  to  his  convictions.  These 
are  the  great  reasons  why  men  prove  faithless  to  them 
to-day.    The  first  division  is  now  stated.    "We  do  not 


^  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

yield  to  our  deeper  convictions  because  of  our  pride  of 
opinion."  This  is  at  once  associated  with  King  Agrippa. 
It  is  shown  how  he  was  the  leading  Jewish  lawyer  in 
the  world ;  that  he  had  already  rendered  certain  decisions 
which  had  established  him  as  an  authority  in  matters  of 
Jewish  /  irisprudence.  His  pride  was  manifested  in  the 
fact  th?  it  was  he  who  offered  to  hear  the  Apostle,  even 
before  !  istus  had  proposed  it,  saying,  "I  also  could  wish 
(margir  "was  wishing")  to  hear  the  man  myself."  It 
is  eviderc  that  Agrippa  in  his  vanity  expected  to  solve 
the  probl  ;m  which  Felix  and  Festus  had  been  unable  to 
settle.  More  may  be  given  in  the  same  line.  It  is  then 
shown  how  the  tables  would  have  been  turned  had  King 
Agrippa  yielded  to  his  convictions.  He  would  have  been 
discomfited  by  the  very  man  whom  he  sought  to  try. 
So  to-day  it  is  pride  of  opinion  which  keeps  many  a  man 
from  Christ.  The  second  division  will  be,  "Because  of 
our  manner  of  life."  Observe  that  nothing  has  been  so 
far  said  with  regard  to  Agrippa's  personal  character.  It 
is  now  to  be  introduced.  His  character  was  as  base  as 
his  talents  were  conspicuous.  He  had  early  become  a 
profligate ;  his  consort  Bernice  is  his  own  sister ;  and  at 
the  very  time  when  he  sits  to  try  the  Apostle  Paul  he  is 
engaged  in  a  secret  conspiracy  with  Rome,  plotting  the 
dismemberment  of  his  own  nation.  He  is  a  traitor,  an 
adulterer,  and  a  debauchee.  He  can  not  yield  to  his  con- 
victions without  confessing  his  sins  and  abandoning  them. 
Even  so  to-day.  And  the  comparison  can  be  carried  out 
to  some  extent.  The  conclusion  is  found  in  the  sequel 
to  the  story,  and  more  particularly  in  the  closing  events 
of  Agrippa's  life  as  they  are  gathered  from  secular  his- 
tory. Only  once  did  the  orbit  of  his  life  approach  so 
near  to  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  This  was  his  moral 
perihelion.    Thence  he  drifts  away  into  hopeless  infidel- 


THE  NARRATIVE  SERMON  381 

ity  and  vice,  a  "wandering  star,"  as  Jude  puts  it,  "for 
whom  the  blackness  of  darkness  hath  been  reserved  for 
ever."  But  he  will  need  no  more  for  his  condemnation 
at  the  last  than  to  be  again  confronted  with  the  Apostle 
Paul,  and  again  to  hear  the  same  question,  with  the  same 
answer,  "King  Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  pro  hets?  I 
know  that  thou  believest."  The  close  connectitJ  )etween 
the  sad  climax  in  the  career  of  Agrippa  and  tha'  f  every 
sinner's  life  is  manifest  and  emphatic.  So  it  is  th  those 
who  will  not  yield  to  their  deeper  convictions. 

W.  L.  Watkinson  has  no  superior  in  the  art  of  nar- 
rative sermonizing.  Many  of  his  discourses  are  of  this 
character.  In  the  one  volume  entitled  "The  Bane  and 
the  Antidote,"  out  of  sixteen  sermons,  five,  (almost  one- 
third),  are  narrative,  and  they  are  all  treated  according 
to  the  principles  which  we  have  recommended.  Let  us 
consult  some  of  them.  Mark  12:34,  "And  when  Jesus 
saw  that  he  answered  discreetly,  He  said  unto  him,  Thou 
art  not  far  from  the  Kingdom  of  God."  Subject,  "Near- 
ness to  the  Kingdom  of  God." 

I.  The  Kingdom  of  God.    Let  us  briefly  inquire  into 
the  meaning  of  this  phrase. 

II.  Near  the  Kingdom. 

1.  There  is  a  nearness  to  personal  godliness  that 
is  brought  about  by  intellectual  sincerity. 

2.  There  is  a  nearness  to  personal  godliness  that 
is  brought  about  by  moral  integrity. 

3.  There  is  a  nearness  to  personal  godliness  that 
is  brought  about  by  ceremonial  faithfulness. 

III.  Entrance  into  the  Kingdom. 

1.  A  word  of  admonition. 

2.  A  word  of  direction. 

3.  Finally,  a  word  of  encouragement. 


382  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

Gen.  42:  II,  "We  are  true  men."  This  is  a  sermon  con- 
cerning the  brothers  of  Joseph,  who  made  this  statement 
when  they  imagined  that  they  were  under  suspicion.  The 
subject  is,  "Revised  Estimates."  We  have  already  re- 
ferred to  it. 

I.  The  Mistaken  Estimate. 

1.  They  rested  in  their  superficial  goodness  and 
forgot  their  deeper  wickedness. 

2.  They  rested  in  their  exceptional  goodness  and 
forgot  their  prevailing  wickedness. 

3.  They  rested  in  their  present  goodness  and  for- 
got their  past  wickedness. 

II.  The  Corrected  Estimate. 

A  careful  examination  of  these  sermons  by  the  reader 
will  illustrate  the  method  to  the  full. 

In  order  to  achieve  great  success  in  the  composition 
of  this  class  of  sermons,  the  preacher  must  diligently 
cultivate  his  imagination.  As  to  this  matter  see  Part  I, 
Chapter  XV.  What  we  have  called  the  historical  imag- 
ination is  almost  indispensable  to  effective  preaching 
along  this  line.  It  is  necessary  to  realize  the  scenes 
which  are  depicted,  to  enter  into  active  intellectual  sym- 
pathy with  the  character  presented.  Ruskin  has  well 
said  that  hundreds  of  people  can  talk  for  one  who  can 
think,  but  thousands  can  think  for  one  who  can  see.  So 
when  we  say  that  the  narrative  sermon  is  the  simplest 
form  of  pulpit  address,  we  do  not  mean  that  it  is  not 
capable  of  becoming  one  of  the  highest  forms.  If  the 
preacher  is  one  of  those  thousands  who  can  see  as  well 
as  think,  whose  vision  penetrates  the  example  considered, 
he  may  elevate  his  style  of  address  to  a  very  high  point. 
In  such  a  case  his  presentation  of  character  is  not  a  mere 
sketch,  the  barren  recital  of  successive  events,  or  certain 


THE  NARRATIVE  SERMON  383 

moralizings  concerning  them;  but  it  is  profound  analy- 
sis which  enters  into  the  very  spring  of  human  life,  dis- 
sects the  motive,  and  lays  bare  the  heart.  The  preacher 
must  gather  about  the  character  much  that  the  sacred 
narrative  does  not  directly  record,  but  which  it  distinctly 
implies,  to  heighten  description,  and  render  the  lesson 
the  more  comprehensive  and  impressive.  The  sermons 
of  John  McNeil  are  among  the  finest  examples  of  this 
historical  imagination.  Take,  for  example,  a  few  lines 
from  the  one  entitled,  "What  aileth  thee,  Hagar?"  "No- 
tice the  scene.  A  dusky  woman,  an  Egyptian,  dark  of 
skin  and  darker  of  heart  at  this  moment,  sitting  in  lone- 
liness and  bitterness:  a  bow-shot  off,  a  young  lad.  At 
first  he  was  all  the  hope,  but  now  he  is  all  the  trouble. 
Utterly  spent  with  the  heaviness  of  the  way,  he  has  been 
cast  under  a  shrub  that  his  mother  may  not  see  him  die. 
Nothing  all  around  but  sand  and  barren  scrub  and  bak- 
ing rocks,  reflecting  and  beating  down  more  keenly  the 
fierce  heat  of  the  sun.  A  great  over-reaching  empty 
heaven.  If  anything  to  be  seen,  away  yonder  in  the  dis- 
tance a  black  speck  or  two  which  by  and  by  will  turn 
out  to  be  the  swift  Avings,  gleaming  eyes,  and  sharpened 
beaks  of  the  vultures  hastening  to  their  prey.  Many  a 
time  they  have  got  a  meal  here.  From  afar  they  scent 
the  feast,  and  are  just  beginning  to  darken  the  sky,  and 
there — oh,  wonder  of  wonders,  it  is  right  there!  heaven 
is  near !  there  God  is,  there  salvation  is,  there  the  voice 
of  promise  and  hope  and  revival !"  The  writer  can  never 
forget  the  impression  which  was  made  upon  his  mind 
when  he  heard  John  McNeil  preaching  upon  the  stilling 
of  the  waves.  He  described  the  Savior  awakened  by 
His  disciples,  and  among  other  things  he  put  these  words 
into  the  mouth  of  Jesus,  "Am  not  I  wet  too?"  and  as 
he  said  this  he  seized  his  coat-tails  with  his  hands  and 


3S4.         VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

wrung  them  out  as  though  he  was  wringing  the  sea- 
water  from  them.  All  preachers  can  not  exhibit  the 
power  of  imagination  to  the  extent  of  John  McNeil,  but 
all  should  endeavor  to  attain  somewhat  of  it  in  order  to 
success  in  narrative  preaching. 


THS  EXPOSITORY  SERMON. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  SERMON. 

The  Expository  Sermon  defined. 

I.  Advantages. 

1.  Fulfills  the  very  idea  of  preaching. 

2.  Gives  complete  and  exact  knowledge  of  the  teach- 

ing of  Scripture. 

3.  Affords  opportunity  to  treat  neglected  passages. 

4.  Contributes  to  interest  in  other  sermons. 

II.  Requisites. 

1.  Unity. 

2.  Structure. 

3.  Mastery  of  details. 

( 1 )  Not  too  many. 

(2)  Pertinent 

(3)  Comprehensive. 

III.  Further  effectiveness. 

1.  The  preacher  must  not  lose  sight  of  his  theme. 

2.  Parallel  passages. 

3.  Obscurities. 

IV.  Various  length  of  passages. 
Three  kinds  of  sermons. 

1.  Treating  all  the  details. 

2.  Selecting  certain  details. 

3.  Massing  the  details. 


&ead    Prof.  Sewall's  Chapter*  in  "Preachers  and  Preaching,"   Sbcdd   VX ; 
Broadus,  Part  IZ,  Chap.  III. 


n. 

THE  EXPOSITORY  SERMON. 

The  expository  sermon  is  the  product  of  exegesis,  but 
it  is  in  no  sense  its  exhibition.  It  is  not  a  running  com- 
mentary upon  some  passage  of  Scripture  in  which  its 
separate  parts  are  taken  up  seriatim  and  explained,  but, 
as  its  name  implies,  it  is  a  piece  of  rhetoric:  a  sermon. 
It  differs  from  the  topical  sermon  in  that  it  is  all  de- 
rived directly  from  the  Scripture ;  and  it  differs  from 
the  textual  sermon  in  that  more  of  the  details  of  the 
Scripture  passage  are  employed.  But  the  textual  ser- 
mon runs  into  the  expository  sermon,  and  it  is  not  very 
easy  to  draw  the  dividing  line.  Professor  Sewall  well 
remarks :  "Make  the  exegetical  part  of  the  sermon  brief. 
Do  not  let  the  interpretation  spin  itself  out  into  garrulity. 
Put  it  as  compactly  as  clearness  will  permit.  Exegesis 
is  not  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  discourse:  it  is  simply  the 
instrument  which  we  use  to  dig  out  the  truth  on  which 
we  intend  to  preach.  When  the  truth  is  dug  out,  then 
preach.  It  is  folly  to  keep  on  digging.  Many  a  good 
sermon  has  been  spoiled  by  too  much  exegesis." 

The  narrative  sermon  prepares  the  way  for  the  ex- 
pository, and  it  will  be  well  to  have  some  experience  in 
the  composition  of  narrative  sermons  before  expository 
sermon  work  is  beg^n. 

It  is  true  that  this  class  of  sermons  is  one  of  the 
hardest  properly  to  prepare.  It  requires  more  careful, 
extended,  and   skillful  study  than  the  young  preacher 

387 


388  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

may  be  ready  to  give  to  it.  Yet  the  attempt  should  be 
made,  simply  because  all  good  preaching  is  the  result 
of  exposition.  No  sermon  of  any  class  can  be  properly 
prepared  upon  faulty  exegesis. 

I.  The  advantages  of  expository  preaching. 

There  are  certain  reasons  why  expository  preaching 
is  not  more  general.  It  is  apt  to  be  severely  criticized, 
and  some  parishioners  do  not  hesitate  to  express  their 
dislike  for  it.  This  fear  of  criticism  is  the  first  reason 
.v^^hy  more  expository  sermons  are  not  preached.  But 
another  reason,  and  perhaps  a  greater  one,  is  the 
preacher's  own  sense  of  his  lack  of  skill  in  the  matter. 
Naturally  he  prefers  to  do  that  which  he  can  do  easily 
and  well,  and  he  shrinks  from  attempting  a  work  in 
which  he  fears  he  may  be  unsuccessful.  But  the  ad- 
vantages of  this  kind  of  preaching,  and  the  very  great 
interest  which  it  does  elicit  when  it  is  properly  performed, 
are  sufficient  reasons  for  undertaking  it. 

I.  In  the  first  place  it  fulfills  the  very  idea  of  preach- 
ing, because  preaching  is  first  of  all  instruction  in  the 
word  of  God,  and  the  application  of  its  truth  to  the  heart 
and  life.  The  author  quoted  above  says  with  regard  to 
this  matter :  "The  expository  sermon  gives  the  truth  an 
opportunity  to  speak  for  itself.  Here  is  a  great  body  of 
divine  revelation  that  wants  to  get  itself  uttered  and  un- 
derstood. How  can  that  best  be  done?  Look  at  other 
enterprises.  How  can  we  learn  most  of  geology?  By 
quarrying  among  the  rocks  themselves.  How  can  we 
best  study  astronomy?  By  going  directly  to  the  stars. 
Why  not  apply  that  method  here?  We  can  take  the 
principal  things  of  the  Bible  and  discourse  upon  th«m 
eloquently  in  our  topical  sermons,  and  that  is  a  very 
useful  thing  to  do,  but  how  much  of  the  real  Bible  do 
our  people  get  in  the  process  ?"  .    , 


THE  EXPOSITORY  SERMON  .-389 

2.  It  gives  more  complete  and  exact  knowledge  of 
■what  the  Scripture  actually  teaches.  In  this  work  the 
preacher  does  not  merely  give  the  substance  of  truth,  or 
declare  that  this  or  that  doctrine  is  set  forth  in  the  Bible, 
but  he  gives  the  Bible  a  chance  to  speak  for  itself.  This 
is  a  decided  advantage  every  way.  The  Bible  has  often 
been  held  responsible  for  errors  and  absurdities  of  which 
its  representatives  were  the  sole  authors.  But  when  the 
people  derive  their  knowledge  of  its  contents  at  first 
hands,  their  knowledge  becomes  the  more  exact ;  and 
when  they  derive  their  knowledge  from  a  large  exhibition 
of  its  teachings,  their  knowledge  becomes  the  more  com- 
plete. 

3.  It  gives  the  preacher  the  opportunity,  and  more 
than  that — the  disposition  to  use  those  portions  of  Scrip- 
ture which  are  very  generally  left  unused.  He  is  gra- 
ciously tempted  into  some  books  from  which  texts  are 
not  often  derived ;  or  even  when  the  passage  is  selected 
from  a  book  which  is  frequently  employed,  he  is  en- 
couraged to  dwell  upon  certain  texts  upon  which  he 
would  not  otherwise  preach  at  all,  because  they  are  con- 
tained therein. 

4.  The  last  advantage  to  be  mentioned,  and  one  which 
is  by  no  means  the  least,  is  that  it  contributes  very  greatly 
to  the  interest  of  the  people  in  other  sermons  not  exposi- 
tory. This  is  because  the  people  have  been  trained  in  the 
Scripture,  have  learned  to  put  more  of  it  together,  have 
been  led  to  understand  its  relations,  and  the  sermon  in 
which  the  larger  connection  can  not  well  be  employed 
by  the  preacher  is  fitted  into  its  proper  place  by  those 
who  hear  it,  and  their  profit  and  pleasure  indefi;nitely 
extended. 

It  is  not  possible  to  say  just  how  much  Scripture 
should  be  used  in  each  expository  sermon.     No  rule  can 


390  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

be  given  with  regard  to  the  length.  Sometimes  a  single 
verse  will  contain  m^y  terms  that  need  interpretation, 
and  set  forth  a  variety  of  truths  that  need  to  be  co-or- 
dinated, and  will  thereby  furnish  sufficient  material  for 
an  ordinary  sermon.  It  is  only  that  a  longer  passage 
is  not  to  be  treated  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  a  shorter 
one,  but  this  will  be  discussed  further  on. 

II.  The  requisites  of  an  expository  sermon. 

I.  The  chief  requisite  is  unity.  This  is  not  exactly 
that  ordinary  unity  of  which  we  have  already  spoken  as 
one  of  the  fundamental  qualities  of  discourse.  Ordinarily 
unity  pertains  to  one's  own  material,  the  various  thoughts 
which  are  the  product  of  his  own  brain,  and  which  he 
must  be  careful  to  correlate  so  that  they  shall  bear  the 
same  or  a  similar  relation  to  each  other  and  to  the  sub- 
ject in  hand ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  expository  sermon  the 
preacher  is  dealing  with  details  which  are  furnished  to 
him.  The  problem  is  not  that  of  unifying  his  own  ma- 
terial, but  another's.  All  that  is  included  in  the  para- 
graph which  he  is  expounding  resembles  a  pile  of  stones 
dumped  down  before  the  mason  who  is  engaged  in  erect- 
ing a  wall.  He  must  choose  his  material  stone  by  stone, 
select  it  with  reference  to  the  place  in  which  he  is  to 
put  it,  trim  it,  fit  it,  and  settle  it  in  position. 

Without  this  unity  the  sermon  is  likely  to  be  only  a 
collection  of  disjointed  remarks,  some  upon  one  expres- 
sion, some  upon  another,  and  instead  of  the  preacher 
producing  one  sermon  he  will  find  that  he  has  produced 
a  number  of  little  sermons,  brought  together  in  a  mechan* 
ical  or  artificial  way. 

What  must  he  do  to  secure  this  unity?  Just  what 
the  mason  does.  He  must  select  the  material  which  is 
suited  to  his  subject  and  reject  the  rest.  Let  him  not 
suppose  that  in  so  doing  he  offers  any  violence  to  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  SERMON  391 

word  of  God.  If  he  were  producing  a  commentary  he 
would  be  bound  to  neglect  nothing  contained  in  the  pas- 
sage. But  he  is  not  doing  this.  He  is  preparing  a  ser- 
mon upon  a  given  subject  which  he  finds  in  the  passage 
considered,  and  in  order  to  the  clear  and  emphatic  pres- 
entation of  this  subject  he  chooses  that  which  is  related 
to  it. 

2.  The  second  requisite  is  what  has  been  called  "struc- 
ture." This  corresponds  to  what  we  have  called  ''organi- 
zation" in  giving  the  three  fundamental  qualities  of  dis- 
course ;  but  it  diflfers  from  ordinary  organization  just  as 
the  unity  of  expository  work  differs  from  the  unity  of 
topical  work,  and  for  the  same  reason.  By  "structure" 
we  mean  that  the  materials  which  the  sermonizer  has  se- 
lected from  the  passage  are  to  be  put  together  upon  a 
system — that  system  suggested  by  his  subject.  They  are 
to  be  so  put  together  as  that  the  one  shall  agree  with  the 
other,  and  all  proceed  together  toward  the  conclusion. 

These  are  the  two  more  important  requisites  in  ex- 
pository preaching,  but  the  question  arises,  Just  what  is 
to  be  done  in  order  that  the  sermon  may  possess  these 
qualities?  How  shall  the  preacher  proceed  to  expound 
the  passage  in  a  sermonic  way  ?  This  is  answered  in  the 
next  point. 

3.  The  mastery  of  details.  All  the  details  in  the  pas- 
sage must  be  studied,  whether  they  are  to  be  employed 
or  not.  None  of  them  may  be  slighted.  If  the  sermon- 
izer does  not  carefully  inquire  concerning  all  of  them  he 
will  be  unable  to  make  a  proper  selection  and  a  proper 
grouping  of  any  of  them. 

He  must  study  these  details  with  the  author's  point 
of  view  in  mind.  What  was  the  subject  discussed  by 
the  author?  What  was  his  purpose  in  discussing  it? 
These  may  neither  of  them  be  the  preacher's ;  but  the 


392         VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

preacher  must  be  acquainted  with  them  in  order  to  form 
his  own.  The  author  was  writing  at  a  different  time,  to 
a  different  people,  and  with  a  different  object  in  view ; 
but  if  the  preacher  does  not  understand  the  adaptation 
of  the  author's  words  to  his  own  time,  people,  and  pur- 
pose, he  will  not  be  able  to  make  his  own  adaptation  to 
his  own  time,  his  own  people,  and  his  own  purpose. 

When  the  details  have  been  all  studied,  and  studied 
with  the  author's  point  of  view  in  mind,  the  preacher 
will  select  the  subject  which  seems  to  him  to  be  the  most 
appropriate  upon  which  to  discourse.  It  must  be  true 
to  the  passage.  It  must  be  a  veritable  subject  as  here- 
tofore explained,  but  the  selecting  and  grouping  of  ma- 
terial can  not,  of  course,  be  done  until  this  subject  has 
been  found  and  stated.  Then  the  work  will  proceed. 
The  details  will  be  chosen  in  accordance  with  such  rules 
as  the  following: — 

(i)  Not  too  many  details.  There  is  great  danger  of 
overcrowding  in  expository  sermon  work,  and  of  pre- 
senting so  many  thoughts  and  points  that  the  hearer  shall 
follow  with  difficulty.  The  preacher  may  be  absolutely 
true  to  his  passage,  and  his  exposition  may  be  positively 
Scriptural,  when  many  of  the  details  are  left  untouched. 
Professor  Shedd  well  remarks  that  in  expository  sermon 
work  there  is  often  too  much  dilution  and  too  little  ex- 
position. "That  is  to  say,  the  very  multiplication  of  de- 
tails impairs  the  force  and  weight  of  the  principle  con- 
tained in  the  subject." 

(2)  The  details  must  be  pertinent.  Here  is  where 
the  particular  skill  in  expository  work  is  required.  Really 
the  great  question  which  confronts  the  sermonizer  is, 
Which  details  shall  I  select?  And  he  may  go  far  astray 
in  his  answer,  because  the  details  which  are  the  most 
important  may  at  first  sight  seem  inferior.     It  is  not  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  SERMON  393 

big  word,  nor  the  peculiar  term,  that  is  always  of  chief 
importance.  The  very  gist  of  the  truth  which  the  preacher 
should  express  may  be  found  in  a  tense,  or  a  preposition, 
or  some  other  insignificant  part  of  speech.  It  may  be 
this  very  thing,  inferior  at  first  sight,  which  ministers 
special  vividness  and  power  to  the  presentation  of  the 
subject.  A  student  in  the  seminary  prepared  a  sermon 
upon  I  Peter  2 :  25,  "For  ye  were  going  astray  like  sheep ; 
but  are  now  returned  unto  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of 
your  souls,"  The  student  secured  the  commendation  of 
his  professor  because,  in  expounding  the  passage,  he  had 
noted  the  fact  that  the  verb  in  this  verse  w^as  in  the  pas- 
sive voice,  indicating  that  they  had  not  returned  of  them- 
selves, but  had  been  graciously  brought  back.  "Your 
going  astray  was  of  yourselves ;  your  being  returned  was 
of  the  Lord." 

In  the  search  for  pertinent  details  the  preacher  is 
subject  to  certain  dangers,  against  which  he  must  be  on 
his  guard.  He  may  not  choose  enough  to  ensure  fidelity 
to  the  passage,  or  he  may  choose  too  many  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  unity  of  his  discourse ;  or,  in  his  ignorance 
or  indolence,  he  may  neglect  the  most  important.  To 
this  work  then  the  most  careful  study  is  to  be  given. 

(3)  The  details  should  not  only  be  pertinent  but  com- 
prehensive. He  must  look  carefully  for  the  broad  and 
suggestive  teaching,  and  not  for  that  which  is  incidental 
or  comparatively  insignificant. 

If  these  rules  be  carefully  followed  the  sermonizer 
wmU  discover  that  he  has  material  which  may  be  easily 
grouped  and  built  into  a  harmonious  whole. 

III.  In  addition  to  these  primary  requisites  in  exposi- 
tory preaching  some  other  matters  should  be  observed 
to  its  further  effectiveness. 

I,    The  preacher  must  not  lose  sight  of  his  theme. 


394  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

Indeed,  if  he  does  lose  sight  of  it,  it  is  probably  because 
the  theme  itself  is  not  well  chosen.  And  yet  there  is 
sometimes  a  temptation  to  depart  from  it  because  of  the 
numerous  suggestions  of  other  subjects  contained  in  the 
passage.  But  the  theme  should/ be  constantly  kept  in 
view.  It  will  be  well  to  specifically  recur  to  It  occasion- 
ally, more  frequently  indeed  than  in  any  other  form  of 
preaching,  so  that  the  congregation  may  be  reminded  of 
it  while  the  sermon  is  in  progress.  This  reference  to 
the  theme  is  like  the  "tie-course"  in  a  wall,  binding  its 
separate  parts  together. 

2.  A  generous  use  should  be  made  of  parallel  pas- 
sages. They  should  be  more  frequently  employed  in  ex- 
pository preaching  than  in  other  kinds,  just  because  it 
is  expository.  Being  such,  the  best  exposition  is  the 
Bible  itself.  They  also  minister  variety  to  the  discussion 
of  the  subject  by  permitting  the  mind  occasionally  to 
break  the  bonds  which  the  expository  method  may  seem 
to  impose  upon  it.  But  these  parallel  passages  should  be 
carefully  selected.  They  should  contain  some  analogous 
truth.  They  should  be  well  digested,  assimilated,  and 
carefully  incorporated  in  the  sermon.  More  particularly, 
let  not  the  preacher  at  any  time  depart  from  the  passage 
with  which  he  is  engaged  and  proceed  to  preach,  as  it 
were,  a  little  sermon  upon  the  parallel  passage. 

3.  Be  careful  not  to  make  the  difficulties  of  the  pas- 
sage, if  there  are  any,  the  more  obscure.  Do  not  attempt 
any  exposition  because  of  a  personal  interest  in  the  mat- 
ter. The  interest  of  the  people  is  the  first  consideration. 
But  if  there  be  difficulties  whose  discussion  can  not  well 
be  avoided,  let  the  preacher  be  honest  in  his  exposition, 
honest  first  of  all  with  himself,  and  then  with  those  whom 
it  is  his  privilege  to  address. 

4.  Remember  that  the  end  and  object  of  expository 


THE  EXPOSITORY  SERMON  395 

preaching  is  that  of  any  other  preaching,  practical  help- 
fulness. It  is  done  to  save  and  edify  those  to  whom  it 
comes. 

IV.  We  have  already  indicated  that  there  is  no  rule 
with  regard  to  the  length  of  the  passage  to  be  expounded. 
Generally  speaking,  however,  expository  sermons  may  be 
of  three  kinds,  relating  to  the  varying  length  of  the  pas- 
sage considered. 

I.  The  first  kind  is  that  wherein  the  details  of  the 
passage  are  very  fully  treated.  This  is  the  hardest  of 
all  to  prepare  because  the  unity  is  sometimes  quite  ob- 
scure, and  yet  thought  and  care  will  prevail  even  in  this 
case.  Dr.  Maclaren,  of  Manchester,  has  a  sermon  upon 
a  passage  which  seems  to  contain  certain  exhortations 
which  have  no  direct  connection  with  each  other;  Col. 
4 : 2-6,  "Continue  steadfastly  in  prayer,  watching  therein 
with  thanksgiving;  withal  praying  for  us  also,  that  God 
may  open  unto  us  a  door  for  the  Word,  to  speak  the  mys- 
tery of  Christ,  for  which  I  am  also  in  bonds ;  that  I  may 
make  it  manifest,  as  I  ought  to  speak.  Walk  in  wisdom 
toward  them  that  are  without,  redeeming  the  time.  Let 
your  speech  be  always  with  grace,  seasoned  with  salt, 
that  ye  may  know  how  ye  ought  to  smmver  each  one." 
Dr.  Maclaren's  subject  is,  "Precepts  for  the  Innermost 
and  the  Outermost  Life."  The  text  has  to  do  with  mat- 
ters of  experience  and  matters  of  duty.  His  main  divi- 
sions are  two,  which,  with  their  sub-heads,  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

I.  The  Innermost  Life. 
Prayer. 

1.  For  ourselves, 

2.  With  watchfulness. 

3.  And  for  others. 


396  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

II.  The  Outermost  Life. 

1.  A  wise  walk. 

2.  A  gracious  speech. 

Dr.  Maclaren  treats  in  this  sermon  all  the  details,  yet 
all  are  methodically  arranged. 

2.  The  second  class  is  where  the  details  are  all  set 
forth,  and  then  certain  are  selected  as  illustrative  of  the 
others.  An  example  is  found  in  a  sermon  upon  Rom. 
9:  1-5,  "I  say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience 
bearing  witness  with  me  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  I  have 
great  sorrow  and  unceasing  pain  in  my  heart.  For  I 
could  wish  that  I  myself  were  anathema  from  Christ  for 
my  brethren's  sake,  my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh : 
who  are  Israelites ;  whose  is  the  adoption,  and  the  glory, 
and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the 
service  of  God,  and  the  promises ;  whose  are  the  fathers, 
and  of  whom  is  Christ  as  concerning  the  flesh,  who  is 
over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever.  Amxcn."  Eight  particu- 
lars are  here  mentioned  which  distinguish  the  Israelites 
in  their  religious  heritage — the  adoption,  the  glory,  the 
covenants,  the  giving  of  the  law,  the  service  of  God,  the 
promises,  the  fathers,  and  the  coming  of  Christ.  These 
are  the  distinguishing  privileges  of  believers — members 
of  the  Church.  Each  of  the  eight  is  carefully  explained 
in  a  few  words,  then  four  of  them  are  selected  for  special 
treatment  and  larger  amplification.  These  four  are  the 
adoption,  the  promises,  the  fathers,  and  the  coming  of 
Christ.  The  connection  between  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  New  is  pointed  out,  and  the  first  coming  of  Christ 
connected  with  His  second  coming  as  the  great  hope  of 
the  Church. 

3.  In  the  third  kind  of  expository  sermon  work  the 
details  are  none  of  them  treated  separately,  but  they  are 
massed  and  their  general  teaching  and  import  is  set  forth 


THE  EXPOSITORY  SERMON  397 

without  reference  to  particulars.  This  is  generally  done 
when  the  passage  is  quite  extended,  say  twenty  or  thirty 
verses  or  more.  The  method  may  also  be  employed  when 
one  desires  to  expound  a  certain  book  of  the  Bible,  or 
a  number  of  books  closely  related  to  each  other. 

Some  preachers  seem  to  imagine  that  in  a  course  of 
expository  sermons  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  treat  every 
chapter  successively,  and  sometimes  to  prepare  several 
sermons  upon  the  same  chapter.  In  this  way  the  course 
may  be  indefinitely  extended.  A  preacher  may  occupy 
half  the  winter,  or  even  more,  in  discoursing,  let  us  say, 
upon  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  or  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans. Unless  he  is  very  highly  gifted,  and  a  man  of  un- 
usual spiritual  power,  this  will  become  intolerably  weari- 
some. But  the  preacher  may  learn  to  do  this  kind  of 
work  comprehensively  by  massing  the  details,  so  that  an 
extended  portion  of  Scripture,  running  perhaps  into  an 
entire  book,  may  be  covered  in  three  or  four  sermons. 
If  then  the  preacher  desires,  some  time  later,  to  take  up 
special  passages  from  the  book  and  enlarge  upon  them, 
it  may  well  be  done  to  the  pleasure  of  those  who  listen. 
This  method  may  be  illustrated  in  a  sermon  upon  the 
73rd  Psalm,  beginning,  "Surely  God  is  good  to  Israel, 
even  to  such  as  are  pure  in  heart.  But  as  for  me,  my 
feet  were  almost  gone ;  my  steps  had  well  nigh  slipped." 
The  subject  of  the  sermon  is  "Asaph's  Error,"  as  illus- 
trating the  error  into  which  any  Christian  may  fall.  The 
preacher  observes  that  the  psalm  is  equally  divided  into 
two  parts.  It  contains  twenty-eight  verses :  the  first  four- 
teen give  the  reason  for  Asaph's  error,  and  the  method 
of  its  expression.  The  last  fourteen  show  the  way  in 
which  it  was  corrected,  and  the  spiritual  effects.  The 
preacher  observes  that  in  the  first  half  of  the  psalm 
Asaph's  mind  is  entirely  occupied  with  the  physical  and 


398  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

temporal  condition  of  the  wicked,  as  contrasted  with  that 
of  the  righteous;  but  in  the  second  part  nothing  what- 
ever is  said  with  regard  to  either  the  physical  or  tem- 
poral. Asaph's  error  has  been  corrected  by  going  into 
the  sanctuary  of  God.  The  spiritual  benefits,  and  the  eter- 
nal prospects  of  the  righteous,  occupy  his  mind  and  fill 
his  soul. 

These  thoughts  amplified  and  illustrated,  with  some 
references  to  the  details  of  the  psalm  and  some  quota- 
tions of  its  expressive  verses,  furnish  a  sufficient  expo- 
sition, though  its  particular  words  are  not  explained  and 
its  details  are  not  treated  at  length. 

The  only  way  in  which  one  may  become  a  skillful  and 
useful  expository  preacher  is  by  candidly  recognizing 
the  difficulties  which  are  connected  with  this  work,  reso- 
lutely facing  them  with  the  determination  to  master  them, 
and  much  practice.  He  may  then  expect  to  be  what 
others  have  been  before  him,  for  some  of  the  most  useful 
preachers  in  the  history  of  the  Church  have  been  those 
whose  sermons  were  largely  expository.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  Monod,  Hanna,  W.  M.  Taylor,  F.  W. 
Robertson,  Ryle,  Joseph  Parker,  Maclaren,  and  F.  B. 
Meyer. 


THE  EVANGELISTIC  SERMON, 


THE  EVANGEUSTIC  SERMON. 

The  evangelistic  sermon  defined. 

Its  form  as  preached  by  the  settled  pastor. 

Its  subjects. 

The  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  compared. 
Edwards.     Spurgeon. 
Special  features. 

I.  Addressed  to  the  conscience. 

IT.  Positively  instructive. 

III.  Exceeding  simple. 

IV.  Experimental. 

V.  Variety  in  form. 

VI.  Not  confined  to  the  evening  service. 

VII.  The  pastor  his  own  evangelist. 


Read  Torrey's  "How  to  Promote  and  Conduct  a  Successful  Revival,"  Spur- 
geon's  "Twelve  Soul-Winning  Sermons;"  Pattison's  'History  of 
Christian  Preaching,"  Chap.  XIV  (Jonathan  Edwards);  Headley's 
"  Evangelists  in  the  Church ;"  Chapman's  "  Present  Day  Evangelism." 


III. 

THE  EVANGELISTIC  SERMON. 

We  use  this  term  "evangelistic"  in  a  special  sense. 
It  is  true  that  every  sermon  in  which  the  gospel  is  pro- 
claimed is  an  evangelistic  sermon,  but  the  term  has  been 
narrowed  to  that  particular  form  of  sermonizing  in  which 
the  unconverted  are  directly  addressed.  It  is  in  this 
sense,  therefore,  that  the  term  is  now  employed.  The 
evangelistic  sermon  is  one  which  seeks  to  promote  the 
conviction  of  sin  and  to  lead  men  to  an  immediate  decision 
for  Jesus  Christ. 

But  even  so,  the  evangelistic  sermon  as  preached  by 
the  settled  pastor  is  not  exactly  the  same  thing  as  that 
preached  by  the  professional  revivalist,  and  we  must 
recognize  the  difference  between  the  two  at  the  outset. 
A  professional  revivalist  usually  takes  it  for  granted  that 
the  people  whom  he  addresses  have  been  sufficiently  in- 
doctrinated. It  does  not  ordinarily  appear  to  him  to  be 
necessary  even  to  define  his  terms.  He  proceeds  at  once 
with  an  extended  appeal,  usually  abounding  in  anecdote 
and  illustration,  and  by  such  means  he  seeks  to  bring  the 
unconverted  to  a  positive  choice.  But  it  has  been  demon- 
strated again  and  again  that  the  settled  pastor  can  not 
pursue  this  plan  in  his  evangelistic  preaching,  and  even 
those  revivalists  who  have  become  for  a  time  settled  pas- 
tors have  abandoned  this  method  for  that  which  is  better 
suited  to  the  pastoral  ofifice.  This  is  all  well  set  forth  by 
the  Rev.  Wm.  Patterson,  pastor  of  Bethany  Presbyterian 
Church,  Philadelphia,  in  a  chapter  on  "The  Minister  as 

401 


402  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

an  Evangelist,"  in  Dr.  R.  A.  Torrey's  book  "How  to  Pro- 
mote and  Conduct  a  Successful  Revival."  He  says: 
"The  work  of  the  minister  according  to  the  teaching  of 
the  New  Testament  is  three-fold.  First,  he  is  to  feed  the 
Church  of  God — the  babes  with  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
Word,  and  those  who  are  more  advanced  with  the  strong 
meat  of  its  doctrines.  Second,  he  is  to  care  for  those 
over  whom  he  has  been  placed  as  an  overseer  or  under- 
shepherd.  We  are  all  agreed  as  to  the  importance  of 
these  two  departments  in  connection  with  the  minister's 
work :  in  fact,  we  can  hardly  over-estimate  the  importance 
of  building  up  Christian  people  in  faith  and  in  knowl- 
edge. Third,  he  is  commanded  to  do  the  work  of  an 
evangelist,  in  other  words  to  reach  out  after  the  unsaved, 
and  to  bring  into  the  fold  those  who  are  outside."  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  the  proper  order  of  preced- 
ence. While  we  can  scarcely  discriminate  between  the 
pastor's  pastoral  work  and  the  pastor's  evangelizing  work, 
there  is  no  question  that  the  feeding  and  upbuilding  of 
the  Church  of  God  is  the  pastor's  first  duty.  It  is  laid 
upon  him  as  of  primary  importance  by  the  Savior  Him- 
self, and  by  the  apostles  who  followed  Him.  Its  chief 
importance  also  appears  in  this,  that  it  is  absolutely  es- 
sential in  order  to  the  success  of  pastoral  work  that  the 
pastor  should  organize  a  corps  of  intelligent  and  zealous 
workers,  competent  to  instruct  others  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, and  that  through  them  he  should  seek  to  do  a  large 
part  of  his  evangelizing  work.  The  expression  of  Dr. 
Parkhurst,  often  quoted,  puts  the  matter  in  exactly  the 
right  light,  "The  pastor's  congregation  is  not  so  much 
his  field  as  his  force."  The  pastor  is  expected  to  exercise 
the  direction  of  his  people,  not  only  in  immediate  soul 
saving,  but  in  all  those  Christian  labors  that  look  to  the 
regeneration  and  reorganization  of  society. 


THE  EVANGELISTIC  SERMON  403 

So  it  is  that  the  pastor's  distinctly  evangelistic  preach- 
ing assifmes  a  somewhat  different  type  from  that  of  the 
professional  revivalist,  while  it  seeks  the  same  end,  often 
reaches  it  by  more  desirable  methods,  and  secures  more 
permanent  results. 

The  evangelistic  sermon  deals  with  the  following  sub- 
jects: (i)  The  nature,  guilt,  and  consequences  of  sin; 
(2)  The  grace,  power,  and  faithfulness  of  Christ;  (3) 
Hmv  to  escape  sin  in  all  its  forms;  (4)  How  to  appre- 
hend salvation,  and  how  to  "work  it  out"  to  its  best  re- 
sults in  subsequent  life.  Professor  Garvie,  in  his  "Guide 
to  Preachers,"  has  a  number  of  excellent  chapters  cov- 
ering these  various  subjects.  They  form  the  second  sec- 
tion of  his  book,  with  the  general  title,  "How  to  State 
the  Gospel."  They  deal  with  the  following  special  sub- 
jects: The  need  of  the  gospel,  the  penalty  of  sin.  the 
nature  of  salvation,  the  grace  of  Christ,  repentance,  con- 
version, and  others.  We  make  no  extended  quotation 
from  them,  but  they  are  earnestly  recommended  to  the 
reader. 

It  will  be  seen  that  careful  students  like  Professor 
Garvie  and  Dr.  Patterson  lay  very  special  stress  upon 
the  necessity  of  presenting  to  the  full  in  evangelistic 
preaching  the  first  group  of  subjects  mentioned  above — 
the  nature,  guilt,  and  consequences  of  sin.  It  is  particu- 
larly important  that  these  should  receive  the  pastor's  at- 
tention in  this  particular  age  of  the  world  when  there 
appears  to  be  in  some  quarters  what  one  has  called  "a 
vanishing  sense  of  sin."  It  will  also  be  found  that  there 
is  no  more  distinguishing  mark  of  the  New  Homiletics 
than  the  return  to  the  consideration  of  these  subjects.  In 
this  respect  the  history  of  modern  preaching  has  followed 
very  much  the  same  course  as  that  exhibited  in  connection 
with  instruction.     The  preaching  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 


404  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

tury  had  very  much  to  do  with  the  exceeding  sinfulness 
of  sin.  The  preaching  of  the  nineteenth  century  largely 
ignored  it,  for  the  same  reason  that  it  largely  omitted 
instruction,  because  it  had  been  already  pressed  upon  the 
consciences  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world.  But  within 
the  last  few  years  the  more  earnest  preachers  of  our 
country,  and  the  best  authorities  upon  homiletics,  have 
perceived  the  need  of  a  return  to  the  earnest  and  faithful 
preaching  of  the  Law.  It  may  be  that  to  some  extent 
the  neglect  in  this  direction  was  due  to  the  extreme  se- 
verity of  the  preaching  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Per- 
haps the  people  of  our  own  age  would  not  be  so  likely 
to  be  moved  by  it  as  our  forefathers.  Jonathan  Edwards 
is  the  most  distinguished  illustration  of  this  form  of 
preaching  at  the  time  when  it  was  in  vogue.  The  prin- 
ciples which  he  maintained  are  absolutely  sound  and  just. 
He  himself  said :  "A  minister  would  miss  it  very  much  if 
he  should  insist  too  much  on  the  terrors  of  the  Law  and 
neglect  the  gospel,  but  yet  the  Law  is  ver)''  much  to  be 
insisted  on,  and  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  likely  to 
be  in  vain  without  it."  No  evangelical  minister  of  the 
present  age  would  probably  dissent  from  this  position. 
"The  Great  Awakening"  (1735-1750)  was  to  a  large  ex- 
tent due  to  the  leadership  of  Edwards.  He  was  its  most 
conspicuous  figure.  While  we  may  not  follow  his  style 
of  discourse,  we  must  follow  the  principles  upon  which 
it  was  founded  in  order  to  be  successful  evangelistic,  pas- 
toral preachers.  His  most  remarkable  sermon  was  en- 
titled "Sinners  in  the  Hands  of  an  Angry  God."  One 
has  said  concerning  it:  "This  was  the  sermon  which 
New  England  has  never  been  able  to  forget."  The  text 
was  taken  from  Deut.  32 :  35,  "Their  foot  shall  slide  in 
due  time."  He  represented  God  as  holding  sinners  in 
this  life  only  so  long  as  it  suited  His  purpose,  but  He 


THE  EVANGELISTIC  SERMON  405 

holds  them  on  slippery  ground,  on  the  edge  of  a  pit 
•where  they  can  not  stand  alone  without  His  gracious 
help.  They  are  already  under  a  sentence  of  condemna- 
tion. When  God  lets  go  they  will  drop.  The  close  of 
the  sermon  was  in  these  words:  "If  we  knew  that  there 
w-as  one  person,  and  but  one,  in  this  whole  congregation 
that  was  to  be  the  subject  of  this  misery,  what  an  awful 
thing  it  would  be  to  think  of.  I^  we  knew  who  it 
was,  what  an  awful  sight  would  it  be  to  see  such  a  per- 
son. How  might  all  the  rest  of  the  congregation  lift  up 
a  lamentable  and  bitter  cry  over  him.  But,  alas,  instead 
of  one,  how  many  is  it  likely  will  remember  this  dis- 
course in  hell !  And  it  would  be  a  wonder  if  some  that 
are  now  present  should  not  be  in  hell  in  a  very  short 
time,  before  this  year  is  out,  and  it  would  be  no  wonder 
if  some  persons  that  now  sit  here  in  some  seats  of  this 
meeting  house,  in  health,  and  quiet,  and  secure,  should 
be  there  before  tomorrow  morning."  It  was  such  preach- 
ing as  this  which  awoke  New  England  from  its  torpor, 
overcame  the  immorality  of  the  age,  and  led  the  way  to 
modern  evangelism.  Surely  more  of  'this  kind  of  preach- 
ing is  needed  at  the  present  time. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  no  pastor  can  be  successful 
in  winning  souls  to  Christ  who  does  not  present  the  love 
of  Jesus,  and  the  grace  of  God  in  Him,  with  the  most 
tender  urgency.  In  this  respect  Spurgeon  is  the  great 
example  of  the  preaching  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He 
was  as  great  a  soul-winner  as  Edwards  before  him,  but 
while  Edwards  presented  the  terrors  of  the  Law,  Spur- 
geon presented  the  attractiveness  of  the  Gospel.  He 
himself  selected  from  over  sixteen  hundred  of  his  printed 
sermons  twelve  which  had  been  most  instrumental  in 
leading  souls  to  Christ.  They  are  bound  in  a  separate 
volume  entitled  "Twelve  Soul-Winning  Sermons,"  and 


4o6         VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

the  author  says  with  regard  to  them,  "These  discourses 
have  been  already  sealed  with  the  highest  approval,  for 
they  have  been  used  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  lead  many  to 
Jesus."  In  not  one  of  these  twelve  sermons  are  the 
terrors  of  the  Law  specifically  presented,  nor  is  there 
a  single  sermon  among  them  in  which  the  guilt  and 
nature  of  sin  are  presented  as  the  leading  theme,  al- 
though much,  of  course,  is  said  with  regard  to  them  in- 
cidentally. We  do  not  think  that  two  men  can  be  found 
in  the  ranks  of  modern  preachers  who  will  furnish  better 
illustrations  of  the  kind  of  preaching  which  is  calculated 
to  win  men  to  Christ  than  Jonathan  Edwards  and  C.  H. 
Spurgeon,  and  we  fully  believe  that  every  one  who  desires 
in  his  pastoral  work  to  bring  large  numbers  to  the  Savior 
should  be  a  diligent  student  of  their  respective  methods. 

We  pass  now  to  consider  some  of  the  special  features 
of  the  evangelistic  sermon. 

I.  It  should  be  addressed  to  the  conscience.  This 
should  not  always  be  made  manifest  by  the  preacher  at 
the  outset  of  his  discourse.  Sometimes  considerable  art 
may  be  employed  to  conceal  this  fact.  Sinners  do  not 
wish  to  be  touched  in  their  consciences,  and  their  antag- 
onism is  apt  to  be  aroused  if  the  preacher's  purpose  be 
made  too  plain. 

More  than  this,  sinners  are  not  generally  directly 
reached  through  their  conscience,  but  through  some  other 
avenue  by  which  their  conscience  is  indirectly  approached. 
The  preacher,  therefore,  who  at  the  outset  of  his  discourse 
attempts  to  press  home  the  truth  to  the  conscience  may 
find  his  very  purpose  thwarted,  and  yet  his  object  is 
never  to  be  concealed  from  himself.  Truly  and  persist- 
ently he  attempts  to  reach  the  conscience,  to  arouse  it, 
to  bring  it  into  immediate  action. 

In  order  to  do  this  he  must  ever  keep  before  himself 
certain    fundamental    principles.      In    his    evangelistic 


THE  EVANGELISTIC  SERMON  407 

preaching  he  must  recognize  nothing  but  the  awful  fact 
of  sin,  the  blessed  offer  of  salvation,  and  the  solitary 
revelation  of  sin  and  the  Savior  which  is  made  in  the 
Word  of  God.  He  will  be  likely  to  fail  in  reaching  the 
conscience  if  he  looks  upon  certain  misdeeds  and  bad 
habits  of  those  whom  he  addresses  as  due  to  nothing  more 
than  environment,  heredity,  or  something  else  which 
would  seem  to  relieve  the  sinner  of  a  certain  amount  of 
responsibility.  "'All  unrighteousness  is  sin."  Skepticism 
is  sometimes  inherited  and  sometimes  associated  with 
unfortunate  training,  but  it  still  must  be  treated  from 
the  pulpit  as  sin,  positive,  willful  sin,  if  the  sinner  is 
to  be  reached.  Drunkenness,  is  sometimes  truly  a  dis- 
ease, but  it  is  much  more  and  worse,  and  must  be  treated 
by  the  evangelistic  preacher  in  the  same  way. 

More  than  this,  the  preacher  who  would  win  souls 
must  make  no  special  discrimination  between  sins  and 
sins,  as  though  some  were  very  much  more  heinous  than 
others,  or  as  though  some  were  not  so  likely  to  lead  to 
the  condemnation  of  God  and  His  just  judgment  as 
others.  To  lay  undue  emphasis  on  certain  sins,  especially 
those  that  are  gross  and  offensive,  such  as  drunkenness, 
gambling,  and  adultery,  is  to  give  a  very  false  impression 
concerning  sin  to  many  other  sinners.  The  preacher  must 
not  seem  to  admit  for  a  moment  that  there  is  any  such 
thing  as  respectable  sin,  or  sin  that  may  be  condoned 
because  of  its  social  or  commercial  character.  It  is  not 
well  even  for  the  evangelistic  preacher  to  deal  much 
with  specific  sin  of  any  kind,  but  rather  to  show  the 
secrecy  and  subtlety  of  all  sin,  the  inward  guilt  which 
corrupts  the  whole  nature,  the  unclean  motives  by  which 
all  sinners  are  exercised,  and  the  offense  to  an  infinitely 
holy  God  of  any  spirit  or  practice  which  is  contrary  to 
His  most  holy  law. 

In  like  manner  the  grace  of  Christ  must  be  shown  as 


4o8  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

necessary  for  all  kinds  of  sinners,  and  as  abundantly 
sufficient  for  them  all.  The  preacher  must  never  depart 
from  his  position  that  nothing  else  can  change  a  man's 
nature,  and  make  him  sober,  clean,  honest,  and  true. 
It  is  by  such  methods  that  sin  is  exposed  and  the  con- 
science is  reached,  and  it  must  all  be  done  by  frequent 
reference  to  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  the 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord"  of  the  inviolable  Word. 

II.  Evangelistic  sermons  should  be  positively  instruct- 
ive. We  have  already  foreshadowed  this  remark,  but 
we  mean  something  more  than  that  which  we  have  al- 
ready said.  They  are  not  to  be  polemic  or  apologetic. 
In  this  sense  they  should  not  be  argumentative.  The 
only  argument  which  they  present  should  be  personal 
and  pressing,  moving  at  once  to  action.  But  for  the  most 
part  they  should  be  occupied  with  the  explanation  of 
Scripture.  Such  are  the  soul-winning  sermons  of  Spur- 
geon  to  which  we  have  referred:  they  are  properly  ex- 
pository. Dr.  Louis  A.  Banks,  in  a  chapter  in  Dr.  Tor- 
rey's  book  already  referred  to,  gives  doubtful  advice  when 
he  says,  "It  is  a  common  thing  for  the  great  evangelists, 
and  the  ministers  who  have  great  success  in  winning 
men  to  Christ,  to  be  criticized  by  the  so-called  eloquent 
and  profound  preachers  who  never  have  any  revivals  of 
their  own  as  being  only  story-tellers  and  not  being  strong 
preachers.  This  is  all  nonsense."  We  do  not  think, 
however,  that  it  is  so  great  nonsense  as  Dr.  Banks  im- 
agines. He  says  a  sermon  is  strong  only  when  it  is  power- 
ful to  produce  the  effect  for  which  a  sermon  is  made. 
Very  true.  But  by  what  means  does  a  sermon  preached 
by  a  pastor  to  his  regular  congregation  become  powerful 
to  produce  the  effect  for  which  it  is  made  ?  Dr.  Patterson, 
who  certainly  has  had  "revivals  of  his  own,"  says  with 
regard  to  this  matter,  "What  is  evangelistic  preaching, 


THE  EVANGELISTIC  SERMON  409 

or  what  does  it  mean  to  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist? 
It  is  not  being  able  to  tell  anecdotes  in  an  interesting 
manner  or  to  clothe  stories  with  beautiful  language; 
but  it  is  the  presenting  of  the  truth  to  men  in  such  a 
way  that  they  will  see  themselves  as  sinners,  and  then 
presenting  Christ  to  them  as  the  Savior  of  sinners  in 
such  a  way  that  they  will  receive  him  as  their  personal 
Savior  and  thus  be  saved." 

The  pastor  addresses  his  evangelistic  sermons  to  the 
intelligence  of  thinking  people,  and  in  order  to  reach  them 
he  must  define  and  explain  the  teaching  of  the  Word  of 
God.  This  must  be  illustrated  from  history  and  experi- 
ence, from  the  events  of  actual  life,  but  beyond  all,  the 
pastor  must  rest  his  case  on  the  presentation  of  the  doc- 
trines set  forth  in  the  Word  of  God.  His  people  must 
feel  that  behind  every  appeal  are  weighty  and  well-con- 
sidered reasons,  and  that  they  have  been  made  to  under- 
stand the  divine  philosophy  of  guilt,  penalty,  and  pardon. 

III.  The  evangelistic  sermon  must  be  exceeding 
simple.  If  there  is  a  tendency  upon  the  part  of  the 
preacher  sometimes  to  deal  with  abstn.ise  themes,  noth- 
ing of  the  sort  must  appear  when  he  attempts  to  bring 
men  to  an  immediate  decision  for  Christ.  Gypsy  Smith 
has  remarked  that  we  are  sometimes  "more  intent  upon 
saying  the  smart  thing  than  the  saving  thing."  In  the 
evangelistic  sermon  we  must  resist  with  more  vehemence 
than  at  any  other  time  the  disposition  to  say  the  smart 
thing.  We  must  be  determined  to  say  nothing  but  the 
saving  thing,  and  that  in  the  plainest  possible  terms.  Dr. 
Banks  well  says  with  regard  to  this,  "No  man  who  wants 
immediate  effect  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  ought  ever 
to  say  anything  in  a  sermon  that  a  boy,  ten  years  old, 
brought  up  in  a  Christian  family,  would  not  easily  com- 
prehend."    He  likens  the  preacher  to  a  lawyer  before  a 


4IO  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

jury  on  the  last  clay  of  the  trial.  His  whole  desire  is  to 
make  such  an  impression  on  the  jury  that  he  may  secure 
the  verdict.  If  he  once  thinks  of  his  own  reputation,  or  of 
any  future  case  which  he  may  have  with  them,  he  will  de- 
feat his  own  object.  He  must  make  the  jury  understand 
only  the  case  which  is  before  them,  and  must  not  use  a  sin- 
gle word  which  may  not  be  comprehended  by  the  simplest 
mind  of  the  twelve.  The  minister  who  is  not  content 
to  lower  the  literary  or  philosophical  standards  of  his 
sermons  in  order  to  win  souls  to  Christ  will  not  be  likely 
to  win  many.  f.^^vy' 

IV.  The  evangelistic  sermon  must  be  experimental. 
In  preaching  it  the  minister  is  first  of  all  a  witness  for 
Jesus  Christ.  He  speaks  because  he  has  himself  believed, 
and  found  peace  and  joy  in  believing.  He  wishes  to 
lead  others  to  the  same  Savior  whom  he  has  found.  He 
must  show  them  the  grip  that  the  truth  has  upon  him- 
self, if  he  would  grip  others  with  it. 

Of  course,  there  is  a  certain  danger  in  this  experi- 
mental aspect  of  the  evangelistic  sermon,  because  self 
may  be  thrust  too  far  to  the  front,  and  the  preacher's 
own  personality  may  be  made  offensive.  Some  men  are 
too  fond  of  telling  of  their  own  conversion,  and  of  the 
method  in  which  it  was  wrought,  and  it  is  perilous  for 
the  preacher  to  make  himself  prominent.  It  may  seem 
to  those  who  hear  him  to  savor  of  vanity,  or  even  of 
unreality.  So,  while  the  preacher  must  be  a  witness 
and  speak  of  that  which  he  himself  has  experienced,  it 
must  be  in  such  a  way  as  to  direct  attention  to  the  Savior 
rather  than  to  himself. 

V.  Evangelistic  sermons  may  display  great  variety 
in  form:  it  will  be  better  for  the  pastor  to  cultivate  this 
variety.  The  narrative  sermon,  the  expository  sermon, 
the  doctrinal  sermon  may  all  be  also  evangelistic.  The 
preacher  who  ministers  continuously  to  one  congregation 


THE  EVANGELISTIC  SERMON  41  ^ 

will  be  likely  to  exhaust  himself  if  he  does  not  cultivate 
this  variety.  Only  let  him  be  Scriptural,  taking  such 
passages  as  suggest  themselves  to  him,  and  treating  them 
evangelistically. 

He  will  find,  morever,  that  his  evangelistic  sermons 
will  be  universally  useful.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  they  are  of  benefit  only  to  the  unconverted.  They 
invariably  minister  to  the  most  mature  Christians.  Suf- 
ficient evidence  of  this  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  meet- 
ings of  revivalists  are  usually  crowded  with  professing 
Christians,  to  such  an  extent  sometimes  that  they  are 
invited  to  stay  away  in  order  to  make  room  for  those 
who  are  not  Christians. 

It  is,  therefore,  of  doubtful  wisdom,  in  preaching 
evangelistic  sermons,  to  address  them  directly  to  the  un- 
converted, specificing  the  class.  Preach  the  evangelistic 
sermon  to  all  classes:  preach  to  the  entire  congregation. 
Some  will  be  aroused;  some  will  be  converted;  but  all 
will  be  helped,  stimulated,  and  comforted. 

The  reason  for  this  is  that  everything  which  the 
Gospel  brings  to  us  rests  upon  our  sense  of  God's  grace 
and  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus.  We  have  no  hope  and  no 
comfort  but  in  this.  The  hymns  which  the  most  ex- 
perienced Christian  loves  the  best  to  sing  are  evangelistic 
hymns.  The  texts  of  Scripture  which  he  most  frequently 
quotes  are  those  which  speak  of  the  grace  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus, 

VI.  Evangelistic  sermons  should  not  always  be 
preached  at  certain  services,  the  evening  service  for  ex- 
ample, or  at  times  when  the  unconverted  are  supposed 
to  be  in  the  majority.  While  it  may  be  well  io  preach 
the  larger  number  at  the  evening  service,  they  certainly 
should  be  preached  many  times  to  the  morning  con- 
gregation. 

VII.  And  they  should  form  a  large  part  of  the  pastor's 


412  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

preaching  work.  He  should  be  his  own  evangelist.  If 
more  pastors  would  cultivate  the  art  of  evangelistic 
preaching,  and  depend  more  largely  upon  their  own  ef- 
forts in  this  respect,  there  would  be  less  call  for  the 
services  of  the  peripatetic  revivalist ;  there  would  be 
more  permanent  results,  and  a  much  larger  blessing. 

Let  the  pastor  remember,  however,  that  all  preachers 
are  not  equally  gifted  in  this  respect,  and  all  can  not 
expect  to  have  the  same  success.  There  is  an  old  story 
of  a  certain  minister  of  mature  years  who  was  some- 
what sharply  criticized  by  a  younger  brother,  who  had 
had  considerable  success  in  his  evangelistic  work,  be- 
cause of  his  apparent  lack  in  this  respect.  But  the  older 
minister  replied  to  him,  "My  brother,  when  the  Lord 
started  us  upon  our  mission  he  gave  me  a  cruse  of  oil 
and  you  a  quiver  of  arrows.  Shoot  your  arrows:  1  will 
pour  out  my  oil." 

Indeed,  one  will  be  the  more  likely  to  succeed  in 
winning  souls  to  Christ,  provided  he  has  the  evangelistic 
spirit  and  desire,  if  he  does  not  take  himself  too  severely 
to  task  for  his  apparent  lack  of  success,  because  what 
he  should  seek  for  is  not  mere  success,  but  the  glory 
of  the  Master.  Sometimes  there  is  a  temptation  upon 
the  part  of  the  minister  to  seek  mere  success  in  winning 
souls  to  Christ  for  the  sake  of  the  success  or  for  the 
sake  of  his  own  reputation.  Under  these  circumstances 
his  efiforts  are  likely  to  be  defeated,  and  his  success  to 
be  the  longer  postponed.  Let  him  do  his  work  earnestly, 
faithfully,  and  look  to  the  Lord  for  his  blessing.  Souls 
are  never  won  except  through  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God.  Let  him  use  the  means  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  pledged  to  bless,  and  rest  there.  "It  is  told  of 
a  missionary  who  went  to  China  in  the  early  days  of 
Gospel  effort  in  that  country  that  after  some  fifteen  years 


THE  EVANGELISTIC  SERMON  413 

of  earnest  work  he  became  dicouraged.  He  wrote  home 
to  his  board  and  to  friends  who  supported  him  that  he 
had  done  his  best  and  preached  Christ  to  the  heathen, 
but  he  had  become  convinced  that  his  ministry  was  a 
failure  as  he  knew  of  no  conversions.  The  church  at 
home,  however,  thought  otherwise  ;  it  stood  by  him  loyally, 
increased  his  allowance,  and  wrote  urging  him  to  remain 
at  his  post  and  to  continue  his  faithful  labors,  which 
would  be  supplemented  by  the  prayers  of  God's  people 
at  home.  Next  year,  the  unexpected  happened — the  mir- 
acle came.  Conversions  by  dozens  and  scores  and  hun- 
dreds astounded  the  missionary.  His  doubts  fell  away 
like  an  old  garment;  he  saw  clearly  now  lihat  th'e  seed 
he  had  planted  and  which  had  been  so  long  in  ripening 
had  come  to  the  harvest  and  that  cumulative  blessings 
had  attended  his  long  and  faithful  ministry." — Christian 
Herald. 

There  is  a  story  of  a  man  who  was  engaged  to  ham- 
mer upon  a  rock.  He  was  paid  good  wages,  and  his 
hours  of  service  were  distinctly  specified.  After  a  time 
the  master  returned  to  the  workman  and  found  him 
sitting  idle.  "What  is  the  trouble?"  inquired  the  master. 
"Oh,"  said  the  workman  in  a  tone  of  despair,  "I  have 
hammered  upon  the  rock  a  long  time,  and  it  does  not 
break."  "Ah !"  replied  the  master,  "I  did  not  engage 
you  to  break  the  rock.  I  engaged  you  to  hammer  on  it. 
Go  to  work  again." 


THE  SPECIAL  SERMON. 


IV. 

THE  SPECIAL  SERMON. 

The  term  defined. 
It  is  produced  by 

I.  Careful  selection  of  texts. 

1.  Reading-  large  passages  of  the  Bible  at  one  sitting. 

2.  Devotional  literature. 

3.  Comparison  of  homiletic  ideas  with  others. 

II.  Rumination  upon  the  passage. 

Special  parallel  passages. 

III.  Special  arguments  and  illustrations. 

IV.  Present  and  positive  helpfulness. 

V.  Illustrations.     Horace  Bushnell. 

Textual  analysis. 


Read  Jeflferson's  "Minister  as  Prophet,"  III;  Bushuell's  "Sermons  for  the 
New  Life." 


IV. 
THE  SPECIAL  SERMON. 

This  term,  the  "special  sermon,"  does  not  mean  a 
sermon  for  some  special  occasion,  or  one  of  some  strange 
category.  It  means  a  sermon  in  which  some  special 
view  of  the  text  is  obtained,  or  in  which  the  text  is  em- 
ployed with  a  special  application,  but  it  is  not  implied 
herein  that  any  other  meaning  is  derived  from  the  text 
than  that  which  it  is  plainly  intended  to  convey.  In  fact 
the  special  sermon  is  one  in  which  the  undiscovered 
beauties  of  the  text  are  revealed,  its  hidden  meanings, 
its  more  remote  but  more  impressive  uses.  It  is  a  ser- 
mon, therefore,  which  commands  special  attention,  stim- 
ulates special  inquiry,  stirs  the  conscience  to  an  unusual 
degree,  and  proves  a  positive  spiritual  power. 

Many  sermons  rehearse  the  old  platitudes  in  the  same 
old  terms  for  the  same  old  purposes.  The  superficial 
truths  which  lie  upon  the  surface  of  a  given  passage, 
and  which  are  perfectly  plain  to  the  simplest  minds, 
are  set  forth  perhaps  with  considerable  emphasis  and 
suitable  illustration,  but  the  depth  of  the  passage  is  not 
sounded,  and  its  distinctive  teaching  is  scarcely  revealed. 
Such  preaching  is  conventional,  humdrum,  and  uninter- 
esting. To  be  sure  it  is  very  useful ;  we  can  not  do  with- 
out it.  A  large  part  of  the  influence  which  is  derived 
from  preaching  is  connected  with  such  work,  but 
preachers  who  proceed  no  further  than  this  will  not  exert  -v 
any  signal  usefulness.    This  may  be  the  case  even  when 

417 


4i8  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

they  show  great  learning,  when  they  exhibit  a  profound 
knowledge  of  history,  philosophy,  and  kindred  branches, 
and  yet  their  preaching  may  be  traditional,  formal,  and 
dry.  They  do  not  really  see  the  deeper  truth,  nor  are  they 
able  to  express  it.  Jesus  said  of  the  Pharisees  that  "see- 
ing they  saw  not ;"  he  spake  to  his  apostles  of  "the  mys- 
teries of  the  kingdom  of  heaven;"  he  exhorted  them 
to  be  like  householders  who  brought  "forth  out  of  their 
treasures  things  new  and  old."  The  men  who  can  justly 
be  called  "great  preachers"  have  always  been  those  at 
whose  hands  the  Word  of  God  took  on  fresh  meaning 
and  came  with  unexpected  power.  Their  hearers  were 
prompted  to  say,  "I  never  saw  that  in  the  text  before;" 
"I  never  realized  what  that  passage  meant."  "I  have 
learned  a  lesson  for  which  I  was  entirely  unprepared." 
The  sermon  conveyed  the  truth  to  the  mind  and  heart 
through  new  avenues,  for  new  uses,  to  edification,  con- 
version, comfort,  and  service.  It  is  the  sermon  that  does 
this  which  may  be  called  the  special  sermon. 

The  special  sermon  is  produced  in  accordance  with 
the  following  principles: 

I.  There  must  be,  first,  a  skilful  selection  of  the  text. 
This  is  a  very  important  part  of  the  process.  The  text 
must  be  one  which  has  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
preacher  by  his  own  immediate  contact  with  the  Word 
of  God.  There  must  be  that  view  of  truth  in  connection 
with  this  passage  which  enables  him  to  say  somewhat 
after  the  manner  of  the  Apostle  Paul  (Gal.  i:  ii.)  "I 
make  known  to  you,  brethren,  as  touching  the  Gospel 
which  was  preached  by  me,  that  it  is  not  after  man. 
For  neither  did  I  receive  it  from  man,  nor  was  I  taught 
it ;  but  it  came  to  me  through  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ." 

In  such  sermons,  beyond  all  others,  and  particularly 
beyond  all  of  the  conventional  kind,  the  text  is  the  ser- 


THE  SPECIAL  SERMON  419 

mon.  This  truth  we  have  already  emphasized;  but  it 
receives  unusual  emphasis  in  this  connection.  When  the 
preacher  finds  such  a  text,  or  rather,  as  we  have  said 
before,  when  such  a  text  finds  him,  he  has  also  found 
his  special  sermon,  at  least  in  its  incipient  stages.  This 
text  has  found  him  because  it  has  brought  to  him  some- 
thing new  and  peculiarly  strong,  and  when  he  discourses 
upon  it,  if  he  does  so  in  the  proper  manner  and  spirit, 
that  same  new  and  peculiarly  strong  element  in  the  text 
which  found  him  will  find  those  to  whom  the  sermon 
is  addressed. 

Sometimes  so  soon  as  a  text  takes  possession  of  the 
mind,  the  preacher  sees  a  whole  sermon  in  it.  It  may  be 
that  the  details  are  not  all  apparent  to  him,  but  the  sub- 
ject, its  main  divisions,  certain  of  its  leading  illustrations, 
and  the  particular  use  which  it  be  made  of  it,  come  in 
one  great,  over-mastering  revelation,  and  for  once,  when 
that  sermon  is  delivered,  he  will  be  a  preacher  indeed. 

This  is  not  the  case  in  preaching  alone,  but  in  much 
that  is  not  called  preaching  which  partakes  of  the  same 
character.  Many  an  address  on  religious  subjects,  and 
particularly  many  a  fine  poem  or  hymn  in  which  spir- 
itual truth  has  been  inculcated,  has  been  stricken  off 
by  the  author  at  a  single  sitting.  The  very  form,  as  well 
as  the  substance  of  the  thought,  came  to  mind  in  one 
supreme,  composite  inspiration.  It  was  so  with  Julia 
Ward  Howe's  "Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic."  It  was 
so  with  Bishop  Heber's  great  missionary  hymn,  and  a 
multitude  of  other  instances  will  occur  to  the  reader. 

In  such  a  case  the  text  thrusts  itself  upon  the  preacher. 
He  does  not  select  it:  it  has  such  a  grip  upon  him  that 
he  can  not  shake  it  off.  It  has  transported  him  to  another 
scene ;  it  has  filled  him  with  a  new  life ;  his  soul  has 
been  refreshed  as  with  heavenlv  manna ;  and  the  mes- 


420         VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

sage  is  like  fire  in  the  bones.     Happy  the  preacher  to 
whom  such  experiences  are  frequent. 

But  the  preacher  must  put  himself  in  the  way  of 
multiplying  such  experiences.  This  he  may  do  by  school- 
ing himself  to  be  on  the  alert  for  the  incoming  of  these 
special  revelations  of  the  deeper  meaning  of  the  Word 
of  God. 

I.  He  may  read  through  certain  entire  books  of  the 
Bible  at  one  sitting  for  homiletical  suggestion.  It  is 
true,  as  we  have  already  observed,  that  the  way  to  obtain 
texts  is  in  connection  with  the  devotional  reading  of  the 
Word  of  God,  and  it  is  not  intended  to  set  this  principle 
aside.  The  book  should  first  be  read  devotionally  before 
it  is  read  for  any  homiletical  purpose,  and  when  it  is 
read  with  a  view  to  the  homiletical  suggestions  which 
it  may  contain,  the  homiletical  intention  is  not  to  be 
emphasized  by  the  preacher,  and  scarcely  to  come  into 
mind.  What  we  intend  to  imply  is  this,  that  a  poor  way 
to  find  texts  is  to  turn  over  the  leaves  of  the  Bible, 
hoping  to  have  the  eye  fall  some  passage  which  shall 
present  itself  to  the  mind  in  passing  as  a  suitable  text. 
Put  the  homiletical  intention  aside,  and  yet  put  it  where 
it  may  be,  so  to  speak,  upon  call.  Then  read  an  ex- 
tended passage,  an  entire  book  for  example,  and  note 
the  texts  that  suggest  themselves  to  the  mind,  whether 
it  be  emphatically  or  not.  Nothing  of  any  great  im- 
portance may  be  derived  from  a  single  reading  of  this 
kind.  No  matter.  Much  of  vast  importance  to  the 
preacher  may  result  at  some  other  time,  but  by  such  a 
handling  of  the  Word  of  God  the  preacher  puts  himself 
into  the  way  of  texts  finding  him  for  special  purposes. 

2.  The  same  thing  may  be  done  with  religious  books, 
particularly  devotional  books,  and  religious  poetry.  Con- 
siderable importance  is  to  be  attached  to  the  value  of 


THE  SPECIAL  SERMON  421 

fugitive  poetry.  It  has  this  much  at  least  in  its  favor 
that  it  is  generally  applicable  to  the  present  season  and 
to  present  conditions.  The  preacher  should  always  scan 
very  carefully  all  the  little  poems  that  are  found  in  his 
religious  periodicals.  The  vast  majority  of  them  he 
may  reject,  but  among  them  he  will  occasionally  find 
some  rare  gem  of  spiritual  expression  out  of  which  will 
come  homiletical  suggestions  of  immense  value. 

3.  The  preacher  should  take  as  frequent  opportunity 
as  possible  to  hear  the  sermons  of  other  men.  He  should 
also  be  a  reader  of  sermons.  This  is  because  every  good 
sermon  has  its  undeveloped  side  lines,  perhaps  barely 
suggested,  and  yet  in  these  suggestions  may  be  wrapped 
up  much  that  will  furnish  him  unusual  thought.  The 
preacher  should  frequently  exchange  homiletical  ideas 
with  other  preachers.  Much  time  might  be  given  to 
such  work  which  in  ministerial  associations  is  consumed 
with  the  discussion  of  abstract  themes. 

In  this  way  special  sermons  are  invited,  if  not  at 
least  created,  and  it  must  be  apparent  that  this  is  a  very 
different  method  from  that  of  the  man,  who  searches  for 
fanciful  texts,  treats  them  in  a  sensational  way,  and  looks 
for  such  results  as  a  special  knowledge  and  treatment 
of  the  Word  of  God  alone  will  furnish. 

II.  When  the  text  has  presented  itself  to  the  preacher's 
mind  in  the  way  which  has  been  indicated,  let  him  rumi- 
nate upon  it  for  a  while.  Let  him  look  all  about  his 
text  to  begin  with ;  let  him  study  it  in  its  immediate  and 
remote  context;  let  him  consult  the  passages  parallel  to 
the  text,  and  do  such  other  work  as  has  been  already 
suggested.  This  work  takes  on  a  new  form  in  connection 
with  the  special  sermon.  The  preacher  having  obtained  a 
special  view  of  the  particular  text  will  connect  that  spe- 
cial view  with  the  context  and  with  the  parallel  passages. 


432  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

The  same  light  which  has  been  shed  upon  this  passage 
will  illuminate  other  passages  also. 

In  this  way  the  preacher  will  be  the  more  likely  to 
find  that  distinctive  teaching  which  makes  the  special 
sermon  what  it  is.  It  is  special  because  he  has  discovered 
in  the  passage  that  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  any 
other  passage  of  Scripture  whatsoever.  It  has  something 
peculiar  to  itself.  The  view  which  he  has  obtained  is 
a  kind  of  "perspective"  view,  an  oblique  view,  whereas 
the  ordinary  sermon  upon  this  text  approaches  it  only 
from  the  ordinary  direction,  and  sees  only  its  "fagade" 
as  it  is  ordinarily  presented  to  the  observer. 

III.  As  it  is  with  the  context  and  with  the  parallel 
passages,  so  it  will  be  with  all  the  material  of  which 
this  sermon  is  composed-  The  arguments  which  are 
employed  will  be  special  arguments,  the  illustrations  will 
be  special  illustrations.  Everything  which  enters  into 
the  composition  of  the  sermon  will  be  of  the  same  grade. 
The  sermon  indeed  should  not  be  finally  completed  until 
such  special  material  has  been  obtained.  It  is  sure  to 
come  if  the  preacher  will  be  diligent  and  patient.  And 
when  it  does  come  it  will  repay  all  of  his  work  and 
waiting. 

IV.  Finally,  a  special  sermon  is  not  to  be  tested  and 
judged  by  what  may  appear  to  be  its  originality  or  any- 
thing of  the  kind,  but  by  its  present  and  positive  help- 
fulness. Will  it  really  give  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed 
a  more  profound  sense  of  their  need,  their  sin  and  their 
portion  in  Jesus  Christ?  Will  it  bring  to  them  unusual 
help,  or  unusual  comfort?  Will  there  be  an  urgency 
in  it  which  is  not  commonly  connected  with  the  preacher's 
work  ? 

V.  A  few  illustrations  of  texts  and  subject  of  a 
special  character  may  be  given  in  closing  this  chapter. 
The   best   example   of  the   use  of  the   special   sermon 


THE  SPECIAL  SERMON  423 

known  to  the  writer  is  Horace  Bushnell.  He  has  ex- 
erted an  unparalleled  homiletical  influence  upon  the 
American  pulpit.  There  are  many  quotations  in  common 
use  among  ministers  to-day,  who  are  ignorant  of  their 
source.  The  following  are  illustrations:  Is.  45:5,  "I 
girded  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known  me."  Bushnell's 
subject  is  "Every  Man's  Life  a  Plan  of  God."  Matt. 
25 :  28,  "Take  therefore  the  talent  from  him,"  Subject, 
"The  Capacity  of  Religion  Extirpated  by  Disuse."  Heb. 
7 :  16,  "Who  is  made,  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  com- 
mandment, but  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life."  Sub- 
ject, "The  Power  of  an  Endless  Life."  Luke  9:  13,  "But 
he  said  unto  them,  Give  ye  them  to  eat."  Subject, 
"Duty  Not  Measured  by  Our  Own  Ability." 

It  will  certainly  be  seen  that  Bushnell  has  derived 
from  these  texts  no  subjects  that  are  not  absolutely  true 
to  their  original  meaning,  but  they  are  such  subjects 
as  would  not  occur  to  the  average  preacher.  Yet  the 
average  preacher  can  learn  somewhat  of  the  art  by  tak- 
ing lessons  from  such  preachers  as  Bushnell.  Watkinson 
is  not  far  behind  him.  To  some  of  his  subjects  we  have 
already  referred. 

Sometimes  the  special  subject  appears  from  an  ex- 
amination of  the  text  in  the  original,  when  it  could  not 
possibly  appear  if  the  preacher  confined  himself  to  the 
English  translation.  Textual  analysis,  as  we  have  seen 
is  the  most  prolific  source  of  such  sermons.  The  fourth 
chapter  of  John  in  its  account  of  the  Savior's  inter- 
view with  the  woman  of  Samaria,  uses  the  word  "well" 
five  times.  We  have  observed  that  when  the  Savior 
uses  the  word  he  uses  a  different  term  in  the  original 
from  that  which  the  woman  of  Samaria  employs.  (7077^ 
and  (f>p€ap.)  The  difference  in  the  two  terms  gives  the 
foundation  for  a  special  sermon. 

Rev.  22:2,   (see  also  Ezekiel  47:12),  "The  leaves 


424  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations."  The 
original  shows  that  there  was  a  use  for  the  fruit  and 
a  use  also  for  the  leaves,  but  the  word  "healing"  in  the 
original  is  depaireLa,  which  is  always  used  in  the  Greek 
in  a  medicinal  sense.  Here  is  a  suggestion  for  a  special 
sermon  upon  the  effects  and  influence  of  the  Gospel. 
Body  and  soul ;  leaves  and  fruit.  It  is  this  special  study 
of  special  texts  which  yields  special  homiletical  results 
for  the  careful  student. 


THE  DOCTRINAL  SERMON. 


THE  DOCTRINAL  SERMON. 

I.  Its  supreme  importance. 

II.  What  is  a  doctrinal  sermon? 
Negatively. 

1.  Not  an  exposition  of  one  or  more  doctrines. 

2.  Not  the  proclamation  of  one  doctrine  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  others. 

3.  Not  the  presentation  of  the  entire  aspect  of  any 
doctrine. 

Positively : 

1.  That  which  sets   forth  truth. 

2.  The  distinctive  truth  of  revelation. 

3.  For  purposes  of  edification. 

III.  How  prepared. 

1.  Select  a  text  which  presents  truth   rather  than 
duty. 

2.  Be  governed  by  the  text  and  subject. 


Read  Broadus,  Part  I,  Chap.  III. 


V. 

THE  DOCTRINAL  SERMON. 

The  doctrinal  sermon  is  the  culmination  and  crown 
of  all  sermonizing.  Those  sermons  which  are  distin- 
guished by  other  names  may  be  somewhat  doctrinal  in 
character,  but  the  sermon  to  which  we  refer  as  a  doc- 
trinal sermon  is  that  in  which  the  doctrinal  character 
is  pre-eminent.  On  the  other  hand  the  doctrinal  sermon 
may  partake  of  narration,  exposition,  and  evangelism, 
and  still  be  a  doctrinal  sermon  because  this  is  its  distin- 
guishing characteristic. 

I.  Note  first  its  supreme  importance.  It  is  of  the 
very  highest  rank:  there  is  nothing  beyond  it.  With 
this  all  the  best  modern  authorities  upon  the  subject  of 
homiletics  are  agreed.  This  is  because  it  has  to  do  with 
those  sublime  revelations  which  God  has  made  to  man. 
It  does  not  present  our  own  speculations  or  theorizings. 
It  is  not  the  product  of  our  own  reasoning,  but  it  is 
the  result  of  the  profound  study  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  as  set  forth  in  the  Word  of  God. 

All  the  great  preachers  of  the  Christian  Church,  be- 
ginning with  the  Apostle  Paul  himself,  have  been  doc- 
trinal preachers.  If  the  student  desires  illustration  of 
the  method  he  has  but  to  turn  to  one  or  more  of  the  fol- 
lowing: Spurgeon,  Chalmers,  Bishop  Simpson,  Bishop 
Mcllvaine,  Phillips  Brooks,  John  M.  Mason,  Francis  L. 
Patton,  Benjamin  M.  Palmer,  or  others  like  them. 

No  other  preaching  has  such  permanent  effects. 
427 


428  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

Other  kinds  may  result  in  temporary  excitement  and 
produce  temporary  influence,  which  for  the  time  being 
may  seem  to  surpass  that  which  is  produced  by  the  doc- 
trinal sermon;  but  it  is  this  which  effects  thought,  de- 
termines policy,  settles  the  creed  of  the  church,  and 
changes  the  currents  of  history. 

In  the  last  analysis,  indeed,  there  are  only  two  kinds 
of  preaching  and  two  kinds  of  preachers — ^the  ordinary 
and  the  extraordinary.  There  are  two  homiletical  levels 
related  to  each  other  as  two  great  plateaus  upon  the 
earth's  surface.  They  have  their  own  elevations  and 
depressions,  but  the  highest  point  of  the  one  is  very  far 
below  the  lowest  point  of  the  second.  This  iiigher  level 
is  unquestionably  doctrinal.  It  resembles  the  plains  of 
Thibet  which  are  called  the  "roof  of  the  world,"  and 
this  is  the  roof  of  homiletics.  On  this  high  level  stand 
the  great  doctrinal  preachers.  Such  preachers  may  not 
always  preach  distinctively  doctrinal  sermons.  They 
may  not  usually  do  so,  but  all  their  preaching  is  affected 
by  their  homiletical  altitude. 

II.  What  then  is  a  doctrinal  sermon?  While  its 
high  place  is  generally  recognized  by  the  best  modem 
authorities,  and  earnest  exhortation  is  given  with  regard 
to  it,  there  are  substantially  no  rules  offered  for  its 
production.  Men  who  enter  the  pulpit  are  not  adequately 
trained  in  this  matter,  consequently  they  are  the  subjects 
of  some  serious  misconceptions  in  consequence  of  which 
they  fail  to  produce  that  for  which  they  strive. 

I.  Let  it  be  understood  that  the  doctrinal  sermon 
is  not  the  exposition  of  one  or  more  doctrines,  however, 
important  they  may  be.  It  is  not  a  theological  treatise, 
and,  therefore,  it  is  not  accomplished  when  one  selects 
a  given  doctrine,  determines  to  preach  upon  it,  and  pre- 
pares it  after  strictly  theological  formularies.     Such  a 


THE  DOCTRINAL  SERMON  439 

plan  is  more  apt  to  defeat  the  preacher's  purpose  than 
to  accomplish  it.  Often  the  hardest  thing  which  the 
young  preacher  has  to  learn  is  to  avoid  this  theological 
method.  This  is  not  strange;  because  so  long  as  he 
is  in  the  theological  seminary  he  is  very  subject  to  it, 
and  it  requires  some  experience  and  practice  before  he 
is  able  to  escape  from  its  shackles.  When  he  attempts 
to  preach  a  doctrinal  sermon  he  uses  technical  terms 
and  conventional  phrases,  and  seems  to  think  it  important 
to  set  forth  his  dogma  in  its  various  relations  to  other 
dogmas  after  the  manner  of  systematic  theology.  It  is 
no  wonder  that  such  a  method  awakens  some  animosity 
in  those  upon  whom  it  is  practised,  and  leads  to  the  ex- 
pression of  dislike  for  doctrinal  sermons. 

Theology,  of  course,  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in 
order  to  the  preparation  of  such  a  sermon.  One  can 
never  become  a  doctrinal  preacher  without  it.  But  a  the- 
ological treatise  is  no  more  doctrinal  preaching  than  the 
suitable  mixture  of  colors  is  painting,  or  a  proper  ar- 
rangement of  light  and  shade  drawing,  a  book  on  loga- 
rithms, astronomy,  or  a  course  in  anatomy  the  sum  total 
of  medical  practice. 

Theology  is  the  tool,  not  the  product.  It  is  related 
to  the  preacher  as  botany  is  related  to  the  florist,  tactics 
to  the  soldier,  and  political  economy  to  the  statesman. 
Just  as  an  expository  sermon  is  not  an  exhibition  of 
exegesis,  so  also  a  doctrinal  sermon  is  not  the  presentation 
of  systematic  theology.  Theology  "theological," — as  it 
has  been  styled — is  not  preachable.  However,  good  and 
important  it  may  be  it  is  of  man,  while  doctrine  is  of 
God;  just  as  geology  is  of  man,  while  the  rocks  are 
of  God. 

2.  Neither  is  the  doctrinal  sermon  one  in  which 
a  single  doctrine  is  proclaimed  to  the  exclusion  of  others. 


43©  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

This  also  is  a  frequent  source  of  embarrassment  to  the 
preacher.  He  imagines  that  it  is  the  doctrine  found  in 
the  text  which  governs  the  sermon.  He  imagines  that 
in  order  to  be  truly  doctrinal  he  must  confine  himself 
entirely  to  that  one  particular  doctrine.  Such,  indeed, 
may  be  the  case  if  no  other  doctrine  is  suggested  in  the 
text,  but  only  in  that  case  will  he  follow  such  a  rule. 
Indeed,  it  will  be  better  for  him  not  to  follow  the  rule 
at  all,  and  not  to  have  any  respect  to  the  doctrine  in 
its  theological  form  while  the  sermon  is  being  prepared 
or  delivered.  He  must  be  governed  by  the  passage  and  by 
the  sermon  subject  derived  from  it,  just  as  he  is  governed 
in  the  other  kinds  of  sermons  which  we  have  considered. 
It  may  be  that  a  number  of  doctrines  will  present  them- 
selves without  impairing  the  unity  of  his  sermon,  in 
which  case  he  will  give  each  its  proper  place  as  demanded 
by  the  sermonic  treatment  of  his  text. 

3.  Nor  is  it  important  that  the  entire  aspect  of  any 
doctrine  should  be  presented,  nor  the  entire  aspect  of 
any  set  of  doctrines.  He  is  not  called  upon  to  co-ordi- 
nate them  or  to  show  their  mutual  relations. 

4.  Nor  is  it  important  for  him  to  defend  the  doctrine 
in  an  apologetic  or  polemic  manner.  Instruction  should 
be  his  object,  and  not  primarily  the  defense  of  the  truth 
against  those  who  hold  to  error — except  on  very  special 
occasions. 

In  brief,  everything  is  a  misconception  in  which  the 
emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  doctrinal  idea  rather  than 
upon  the  sermonic  idea.  The  doctrinal  sermon  is  first 
of  all  a  sermon,  after  that  it  is  a  doctrinal  sermon. 

To  answer  the  question  positively,  we  should  say  a 
doctrinal  sermon  is  one  which  sets  forth  the  distinctive 
truths  of  revelation  to  the  edification  of  those  that  hear. 
Let  us  note  the  separate  points  in  this  definition. 


THE  DOCTRINAL  SERMON  431 

1.  "Truths."  Truths  rather  than  duties.  The  Shorter 
Catechism  in  answer  to  the  question,  "What  do  the  Scrip- 
tures principally  teach?"  replies,  "The  Scriptures  princi- 
pally teach  what  man  is  to  believe  concerning  God,  and 
what  duty  God  requires  of  man."  This  answer  com- 
bines truth  with  duty,  but  "What  man  is  to  believe  con- 
cerning God"  is  prior  to  "What  duty  God  requires  of 
man."  Truth  has  the  precedence.  It  is  more  important 
to  understand  truth  than  to  know  duty,  but  it  requires 
more  careful  study  to  apprehend  the  truth,  and  greater 
skill  to  present  it.  Therefore  the  doctrinal  sermon  is 
superior  in  quality  to  the  practical  or  experimental. 

If,  then,  truth  has  the  right  of  way  in  a  doctrinal 
sermon  rather  than  duty,  the  truth  should  be  to  the  fore. 
The  sermon  as  we  have  indicated  may  be  expository, 
evangelistic  or  biographical,  but  the  important  truth  of 
the  Word  of  God  is  to  be  placed  in  the  stronger  light, 
and  is  to  receive  the  special  emphasis. 

2.  "The  distinctive  truths  of  revelation."  That  is  to 
say  the  truths  which  are  peculiar  to  revelation.  That  is 
not  a  doctrinal  sermon  which  discourses  upon  truth  de- 
rived from  any  other  quarter  than  the  word  of  God. 
The  preacher  may  be  very  faithful  to  truth,  and  present 
very  much  of  it,  without  being  a  doctrinal  preacher. 

One  was  asked  concerning  a  certain  minister,  re- 
cently set  over  an  important  congregation,  as  to  the 
character  of  his  preaching.  The  reply  was  in  these 
words,  "He  preaches  truth,  but  not  the  truth."  It  is 
THE  truth  which  makes  the  doctrinal  sermon.  "Things 
which  eye  saw  not,  and  ear  heard  not,  and  which  entered 
not  into  the  heart  of  man,"  but  that  which  is  the  exclu- 
sive property  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Such  truth  it  is 
the  purpose  of  the  doctrinal  sermon  to  commend  and 
to  explain. 


432  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

3.  "To  edification."  To  instruction,  indeed,  but  not 
to  mere  instruction.  Because  the  pulpit  is  not  a  pro- 
fessor's desk  nor  a  lecturer's  platform.  It  is  the  throne  of 
the  ambassador  of  Jesus  Christ,  where  the  preacher  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  cheers,  counsels,  and  stimulates  the 
people  of  Christ,  warns  and  wins  the  erring.  Nothing 
is  so  effective  for  these  purposes  as  the  distinctive  truths 
of  the  word  of  God.  Says  Phillips  Brooks:  "Preach 
doctrine,  preach  all  the  doctrine  that  you  know,  and 
learn  for  ever  more  and  more,  but  preach  it  always — not 
that  men  may  simply  believe  it,  but  that  they  may  be 
saved  in  believing  it." 

III.  What  plan  shall  be  pursued  in  preparing  the 
doctrinal  sermon? 

1.  Select  a  text  which  sets  forth  truth  rather  than 
duty.  The  subject  may  be  the  same  in  two  different 
texts,  while  one  will  be  adapted  to  the  doctrinal  use  and 
the  other  to  the  evangelistic  use.  For  example,  i  John 
1 : 9,  "If  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  righteous 
to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  un- 
righteousness." And  Matt.  3 : 2,  "Repent  ye ;  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  The  subject  is  the  same 
in  both  texts,  but  the  truth  preponderates  ii^the  first  and 
duty  in  the  second.  A  sermon  upon  the  first  text  should 
be  doctrinal ;  a  sermon  upon  the  second  text  should  be 
evangelistic.  And  so  also  with  the  doctrinal  sermon  as 
compared  with  other  kinds  of  sermons  which  we  have 
considered. 

2.  The  text  having  been  selected,  the  preacher  is  to 
be  governed  by  the  text  no  matter  what  his  theological 
conception  of  the  form  of  the  doctrine  contained  in  it 
may  be,  and  this  will  appear  in  his  subject,  his  divisions, 
and  his  application.  His  subject  will  not  be  stated  in 
the  doctrinal  term  which  he  has  in  mind  in  connection 


the:  doctrinal  sermon  433 

with  his  text,  unless  that  term  itself  appears  in  the  text. 
His  statement  of  his  divisions  will  be  governed  by  the 
same  rule.  His  theological  studies  will  be  of  special 
help  to  him  in  this  particular,  but  they  will  be  only  as 
instruments  which  shall  not  themselves  appear  in  the 
finished  product.  His  theology  will  be  the  grist,  the  ser- 
mon will  be  the  fine  flour,  ground,  bolted,  and  purified. 

We  do  not  mean  to  indicate  in  this  that  technical 
terms  are  never  to  be  employed,  but  that  they  should  not 
form  the  staple  of  the  discourse.  Sometimes  it  is  well 
to  emply  a  technical  term  in  order  to  teach  those  who 
listen  its  meaning  and  its  place  in  doctrinal  thinking, 
but  ordinarily  technicalities  are  to  be  avoided.  So  also 
with  regard  to  the  application.  The  preacher  has  been 
engaged  with  truth,  but  his  application  is  not  in  this 
form,  "Such  then  is  the  truth,"  nor  even  in  this  form, 
"Such  is  the  very  truth  of  God,"  provided  nothing  more 
be  added.  This  would  be  distinctly  to  violate  the  maxim 
of  Phillips  Brooks.  But  the  application  is  rather,  "This 
is  God's  truth  to  you  and  for  you,  for  your  counsel,  your 
comfort,  your  warning,  and  your  hope."  The  applica- 
tion is  for  the  heart  more  than  for  the  head,  though  the 
heart  is  reached  through  the  head.  It  is  for  the  con- 
science and  for  the  life. 

If  the  preacher  proceeds  upon  this  plan  he  will  find 
that  the  most  abstruse  doctrines,  and  even  those  that  are 
sometimes  considered  the  most  obnoxious,  will  hold  in 
themselves  the  most  precious  comfort  for  the  people  of 
God,  and  the  most  decided  impulse  for  those  who  have 
not  yet  received  the  Savior.  This  is  where  the  trained 
theologian  has  the  superiority  over  those  who  have  not 
received  a  suitable  education.  In  the  course  of  his  train- 
ing he  begins  with  Scripture  in  Scripture  form.  He 
proceeds  thence  to  theology.    But  from  his  theology  he 


434         VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

returns  again  to  Scripture  in  Scripture  form,  and  presents 
the  doctrines  concerning  which  he  has  studied,  after  the 
example  of  the  ancient  prophets,  the  apostles  of  the  Sav- 
ior, and  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  What  has  he  gained 
from  his  study  of  theology?  Anything  in  addition  to 
Scripture  truth  ?  No,  by  no  means ;  but  very  much  more 
of  that  very  truth,  knowledge  of  terms  and  propositions, 
knowledge  of  proportions  and  relations. 

The  subject  is  well  illustrated  by  the  remarkable  ad- 
vance which  has  been  made  in  present-day  methods  of 
farming.  At  first  the  old-time  farmer,  who  had  learned 
but  little  concerning  his  own  work  from  books,  was  sus- 
picious with  regard  to  the  training  given  in  certain 
schools  and  colleges.  Agricultural  chemistry  seemed  to 
him  unprofitable  and  foolish.  At  first  he  was  loath  to 
have  his  boys  lose  the  time  that  was  necessary  to  take 
such  a  course  of  training.  But  he  has  learned  better  in 
recent  days.  Agricultural  chemistry  has  come  to  stay; 
and  no  one  rejoices  in  it  more  heartily  than  the  old-time 
farmer  himself.  His  boys  grow  up  upon  the  farm;  they 
proceed  thence  to  the  agricultural  college.  They  study 
the  nature  of  soils,  fertilizers,  nitrates,  and  the  like.  Then 
they  return  to  nature  in  natural  forms  again.  They 
come  back  to  the  farm  and  are  farmers  worthy  of  the 
name.  They  work  scientifically  and  methodically.  The 
old  folks'  fields  produce  twenty-five  and  even  fifty  per 
cent,  more  than  they  did  formerly,  and  the  product  is  of 
a  superior  q-uality.     So  it  is  with  theological  training. 


THE  ILLUSTRATED  SERMON. 


THE  ILLUSTRATED  SERMON. 

A  pictorial  age. 

The  magic  lantern. 
L    The   Illustrated    Sermon    not    substantially   different 
from  others. 

II.  Rules  for  illustrations. 

1.  They  must  be  dignified. 

2.  Simple. 

3.  Made  for  this  one  purpose. 

4.  Not  shown  until  needed. 

5.  Used  for  illustrative  purposes  only. 

6.  Not  exhausted  at  once. 

7.  Sermonic. 

III.  Materials  employed. 


THE  ILLUSTRATED  SERMON. 

We  do  not  refer  in  this  title  to  verbal  illustration,  but 
to  visible,  to  that  which  is  addressed  to  the  eye  rather 
than  to  the  ear,  and  to  that  which  is  ordinarily  known 
as  "object  illustration."  It  may  be  a  map,  chart,  picture, 
or  material  of  any  suitable  kind  by  which  the  mind  is 
assisted  in  apprehending  the  truth  by  means  of  the  con- 
crete. 

This  is  a  pictoral  age.  The  facility  with  which  illus- 
trations are  produced  and  reproduced  have  multiplied 
them  to  such  an  extent  that  our  daily  papers  are  filled 
with  them,  and  even  an  advertisement  is  scarcely  com- 
plete without  their  use.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that 
they  may  well  be  employed  in  pulpit  work.  Indeed, 
there  is  considerable  in  the  line  of  preaching  which  can 
not  be  well  done  without  such  helps.  This  is  generally 
admitted  with  regard  to  addresses  of  another  character. 
The  magic  lantern,  for  example,  employs  the  results  of 
photographic  art  to  a  great  extent  and  has  come  into 
very  general  use,  and  there  are  few  who  essay  to  appear 
before  the  public  in  the  role  of  lecturers  who  think  of 
doing  so  without  its  aid.  There  are  some  ministers,  in- 
deed, who  seem  to  think  that  it  is  every  way  proper  to 
introduce  the  magic  lantern  into  their  regular  Sunday 
services,  but  it  is  a  very  serious  question  whether  this 
is  either  proper  or  profitable.  It  appears  to  the  writer 
to  savor  too  much  of  the  spectacular,  to  divert  the  at- 

437 


438         VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

tention  of  the  people,  and  to  turn  what  should  be  the 
solemn  worship  of  Almighty  God  into  a  kind  of  a  show. 
The  magic  lantern  may  well  be  employed  in  the  in- 
formal exercises  of  the  congregation  and  upon  a  week- 
day evening.  It  is  invaluable  in  connection  with  the 
work  of  missions,  and  other  kindred  subjects,  but  it  does 
not  seem  to  be  in  place  in  the  stated  Sunday  services  of 
a  congregation.  The  objections  that  seem  to  obtain  with 
regard  to  the  use  of  the  lantern,  however,  do  not  hold 
with  regard  to  other  pictorial  illustrations  which  are  used 
without  the  darkening  of  the  room,  and  those  other  ac- 
cessories which  are  necessary  to  the  use  of  the  magic 
lantern.  Such  illustrations,  however,  are  very  seldom 
employed.  This  may  be  because  the  preacher  is  ignorant 
of  the  proper  method  both  in  preparing  and  utilizing 
them.  It  may  be  because  of  a  certain  timidity  which  he 
suffers  with  regard  to  a  process  which  he  has  never  em- 
ployed; a  dread  of  the  unusual;  or  perhaps  the  whole- 
some fear  of  being  regarded  as  sensational.  But  such 
illustrations  may  be  employed  with  entire  success  and 
absolute  propriety.  The  method  of  preparation  is  not 
hard  to  learn,  nor  is  the  efficient  use  of  them  difficult 
to  attain.  Some  suggestions  are,  therefore,  given  with 
regard  to  the  preparation  and  use  of  illustrated  sermons. 

I.  In  general.  The  illustrated  sermon  does  not  differ 
materially  from  any  other  sermon.  It  is  prepared  in 
very  much  the  same  way.  But  when  it  is  finished  the 
preacher  finds  that  the  illustrations  which  he  has  sought 
to  convey  in  mere  words  would  be  much  more  effective 
if  concrete  objects  were  employed.  He  therefore  makes 
use  of  such  objects  in  order  the  more  clearly  to  set  forth 
to  the  eye  that  which  can  not  fully  or  precisely  be  con- 
veyed to  the  ear. 

The  sermon,  therefore,  is  not  arranged  for  the  sake 


THE  ILLUSTRATED  SERMON  439 

of  the  illustrations,  but  the  illustrations  are  arranged  for 
the  sake  of  the  sermon.  Herein  some  are  very  likely  to 
go  astray,  especially  in  connection  with  the  use  of  illus- 
trations which  are  furnished  to  the  preacher  ready  made. 
This  mistake  is  most  likely  to  occur  in  connection  with 
the  use  of  magic  lantern  slides.  Very  few  preachers  can 
prepare  such  slides  themselves,  and  must  depend  upon 
those  which  are  bought  from  the  dealers.  The  address 
which  accompanies  them  must  be  arranged  with  refer- 
ence to  the  material.  The  pictures  thereby  become  the 
chief  element  in  the  discourse  and  the  service  degen- 
erates into  a  mere  entertainment.  But  when  the  illustra- 
tions are,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  aftergrowth  of  sermon 
work,  the  meretricious  features  are  absolutely  removed. 
The  sermon  is  prepared  with  sole  reference  to  the  truth 
contained  in  the  passage  of  Scripture  which  is  being  ex- 
pounded. The  illustrations  are  subsequently  found  and 
arranged  in  their  proper  place.  Sometimes  it  may  be 
necessary  to  rearrange  the  sermonic  material  in  order 
to  obtain  the  proper  relation  between  the  thought  and 
the  illustration,  but  such  rearrangement  does  not  vio- 
late the  general  principle. 

n.  In  particular  the  following  rules  should  be  ob- 
served. 

1.  The  illustrations  should  be  entirely  dignified.  They 
should  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  accord  with  the  di- 
vine truth  elaborated  by  the  preacher.  What  has  been 
already  said  with  regard  to  the  quality  of  verbal  illustra- 
tions applies  equally  with  regard  to  visible  ones. 

2.  They  should  be  simple.  The  idea  of  mere  ornament 
should  be  entirely  excluded.  It  is  not  even  necessary  that 
they  should  be  well  executed,  according  to  the  artist's 
standard.  If  a  map  is  exhibited  it  may  be  very  crude 
and  imperfect,  but  if  it  serve  its  purpose  it  is  as  well 


440  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

for  the  sermon  as  though  it  were  the  work  of  an  ex- 
perienced draftsman.  So  also  with  regard  to  charts  or 
pictures  of  any  kind.  Many  ministers  are  doubtless  de- 
terred from  using  such  things  because  they  are  not  ex- 
perienced draftsmen,  and  they  hesitate  to  place  before 
an  audience  that  which  has  no  artistic  merit  whatsoever. 
The  force  and  beauty  of  the  illustration,  however,  for 
such  purposes  does  not  consist  in  its  artistic  beauty,  but 
in  its  adaptation  to  the  purposes  of  illustration. 

3.  Such  illustrations  should  be  made  by  the  preacher 
himself,  or  by  some  one  under  his  immediate  direction. 
Each  illustration  should  be  made  for  the  single  sermon 
with  which  it  is  to  be  employed,  and  should  rarely  be 
applicable  to  any  other  sermon.  Many  times  it  will  be 
better  for  purposes  of  illustration  if  the  map  or  chart  be 
made  in  the  sight  of  the  people,  and  while  the  sermon 
is  being  delivered.  This,  however,  might  occupy  too 
much  time  or  prove  only  a  source  of  embarrassment  to 
the  preacher.  Such  being  the  case  his  illustrations  may 
be  prepared  in  advance. 

The  reason  why  he  should  make  them  himself,  or 
have  them  made  under  his  immediate  direction,  is  in  order 
that  they  may  show  nothing  more  than  that  which  he 
proposes  to  use.  A  standard  map,  for  example,  is  of 
very  little  service  to  the  one  who  knows  how  to  prepare 
a  map  for  special  use.  It  contains  too  much.  It  may 
give  emphasis  to  the  very  thing  which  the  preacher  de- 
sires to  obscure,  or  fail  to  emphasize  that  upon  which 
the  preacher  places  the  most  emphasis.  The  map  pre- 
pared by  the  minister  himself  will  show  no  more  than 
he  wishes  to  treat  in  his  sermon,  and  such  other  points 
as  may  be  necessary  to  indicate  relations.  A  map  of 
Palestine  exhibiting  all  its  scenes — such  as  cities,  rivers, 
mountains  and  plains,  which  are  mentioned  in  the  four 


THE  ILLUSTRATED  SERMON  441 

Gospels  would  be  most  inappropriate  to  the  preacher's 
use  if  he  were  discussing  some  scene  in  early  apostolic 
history.  Suppose,  for  example,  he  desires  to  show  the 
movement  of  the  apostles  when  they  were  scattered 
abroad  after  the  persecution  following  the  death  of 
Stephen.  This  will  include  the  departure  of  Philip  to 
Samaria,  and  his  journey  thence  to  the  south  where  he 
fell  in  with  the  Ethiopian,  and  thence  his  removal  to 
Azotus  and  to  Caesarea.  Perhaps  he  desires  to  show  in 
addition  the  movement  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  who  fol- 
lowed Philip  to  Samaria  and  afterward  came  to  Lydda, 
Joppa,  and  Caesarea.  It  will  be  seen  that  they  journeyed 
in  very  nearly  the  same  course  to  the  same  city  of  Caes- 
area. The  preacher  will  prepare  a  special  map  in  which 
their  respective  journeys  will  be  traced  in  suitable  colors, 
say,  for  example,  Philip's  with  a  blue  line,  and  Peter's 
with  a  red  line.  Very  little  appears  upon  the  map  in 
addition  to  the  places  which  have  been  mentioned,  and 
the  map  covers  no  other  section  of  the  country  than  that 
which  is  embraced  in  this  particular  history.  This  map 
will  serve  a  purpose  altogether  different  from  any  stand- 
ard map  and  be  of  manifestly  greater  service.  The  same 
principle  applies  to  all  the  illustrations  which  are  used. 

4.  The  illustrations  should  not  be  shown  until  they 
are  needed  in  the  development  of  the  discourse ;  other- 
wise they  will  distract  attention  and  anticipate  the  devel- 
opment of  the  preacher's  thought.  They  should  be  ex- 
hibited in  connection  with  that  portion  of  the  sermon 
which  refers  to  them.  The  provision  required  for  this 
purpose  will  appear  further  on. 

5.  The  illustrations  should  be  used  for  illustrative 
purposes  only.  They  should  not  be  displayed  merely  to 
catch  the  eye,  or  to  furnish  some  attractive  addition; 
but  they  should  be  for  the  positive  enrichment  of  the 


442  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

thought,  its  illumination  and  addition,  just  as  in  the  case 
of  verbal  illustrations. 

6.  The  illustrations  should  not  be  exhausted  at  once, 
but  used  at  intervals  throughout  the  sermon.  Of  course, 
there  may  be  occasions  when  only  one  illustration  is  em- 
ployed, and  when  the  preacher  desires  to  use  it  but  for 
a  moment,  but  he  will  find  that  ordinarily  when  he  needs 
such  illustrations  at  all  he  will  need  more  than  one.  It 
is  better  that  it  should  be  so.  They  are  not  to  be  shown 
in  advance  and  the  audience  informed  that  their  use  will 
appear  later  on,  but  they  are  to  be  used  and  used  again 
as  the  necessity  of  the  sermon  requires.  If  a  single 
illustration  is  shown  its  separate  features  are  to  be  re- 
served for  the  proper  time  in  like  manner. 

7.  The  illustrations  should  be  used  for  sermonic  pur- 
poses. The  most  difficult  part  of  the  art  lies  just  here. 
It  is  quite  easy  for  the  preacher  to  learn  to  use  these 
illustrations  for  narrative  purposes,  for  the  explanation 
of  geographical,  political,  or  social  features  in  his  dis- 
course, but  it  is  not  easy  for  him  to  learn  to  make  illus- 
trations which  shall  themselves  convey,  in  connection 
with  the  truth  which  is  discussed,  a  useful,  spiritual  les- 
son. Yet  this  may  be  done  with  even  so  simple  a  thing 
as  a  map.  Take,  for  example,  the  text  found  in  i  Sam. 
14:23,  "So  Jehovah  saved  Israel  that  day:  and  the  bat- 
tle passed  over  by  Bethaven."  This  verse  closes  the  his- 
tory of  Jonathan's  remarkable  victory  at  Michmash.  He 
and  his  armor-bearer  descended  into  the  deep  ravine 
which  separated  the  army  of  Saul  from  the  army  of  the 
Philistines.  Jonathan  had  said  to  him,  "Come,  and  let 
us  go  over  unto  the  garrison  of  these  uncircumcised :  it 
may  be  that  Jehovah  will  work  for  us ;  for  there  is  no 
restraint  to  Jehovah  to  save  by  many  or  by  few."  Je- 
hovah did  work  for  them.     They  climbed  up  the  steep 


THE  ILLUSTRATED  SERMON  44J 

cliff  upon  the  other  side,  showed  themselves  to  the  gar- 
rison of  the  Philistines,  succeeded  in  accomplishing  their 
alarm  and  flight.  King  Saul,  perceiving  from  a  dis- 
tance what  had  been  done,  led  his  army  to  the  assistance 
of  Jonathan  and  his  armor-bearer.  The  rout  of  the 
Philistines  was  complete  ;  they  fled  in  confusion.  So  says 
the  text,  "Jehov2di  saved  Israel  that  day:  and  the  battle 
passed  over  by  Bethaven."  A  suitable  map  will  show 
the  situation.  It  must  be  a  physical  map,  very  plainly 
exhibiting  the  elevations  and  depressions  of  the  country, 
the  great  central  ridge  between  the  Jordan  and  the  Med- 
iterranean, the  chasm  which  Jonathan  and  his  armor- 
bearer  crossed,  and  the  relative  positions  of  Michmash, 
Geba,  and  Bethaven.  But  the  whole  force  of  the  text 
resides  in  the  words  "passed  over,"  "the  battle  passed 
over  by  Bethaven."  The  map  will  show  that  Michmash 
and  Geba  are  upon  one  side  of  the  central  ridge.  Beth- 
aven is  on  the  other  side.  The  Israelites  chased  the  Phil- 
istines over  the  ridge,  pursued  them  down  the  hillside 
to  their  own  country.  It  was  a  down-hill  battle.  It 
proved  to  be  a  decisive  victory.  The  spiritual  lesson  is 
plain,  and  is  made  the  more  so  by  the  map.  The  map 
itself  conveys  a  spiritual  lesson  because  there  may  be  a 
time  in  the  life  of  any  man  when  he  obtains  the  upper 
hand  of  his  spiritual  enemies.  It  is  when  in  all  weak- 
ness he  determines  to  give  them  battle.  When  he  does 
so  with  the  same  faith  which  Jonathan  exercised  then  it 
is  that  the  same  thing  is  accomplished  in  his  life  which 
was  accomplished  in  the  history  of  Israel.  He  obtains 
a  decisive  victory;  the  battle  passes  over  the  central 
ridge,  and  becomes  for  him  forever  after  a  downhill  fight 
with  sin. 

It  sometimes  occurs  with  the  preacher  that  he  desires 
to  use  an  illustration  which  might  produce  an  unhappy 


444  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

effect  upon  the  audience  if  it  were  presented  by  itself 
without  suitable  introduction.  A  certain  preacher  upon 
one  occasion  was  speaking  of  the  influence  of  Christianity 
in  the  households  of  the  Roman  emperors.  He  desired 
to  refer  to  certain  discoveries  made  in  recent  years  in 
the  explorations  on  the  site  of  the  imperial  palaces.  One 
of  these  was  a  certain  "graffito"  scratched  into  the  plas- 
ter on  the  walls  of  a  room  occupied  by  the  pages  in  at- 
tendance upon  the  Emperor  Claudius.  He  occupied  some 
time  in  telling  the  congregation  about  these  discoveries. 
He  said  that  the  one  to  which  he  was  about  to  refer 
would  be  quite  shocking  if  its  character  was  not  well 
known  in  advance.  He  explained  that  all  sorts  of  slan- 
ders were  charged  against  those  early  Christians,  some 
of  them  being  sacreligious  and  scurrilous.  They  were 
accused,  for  example,  of  worshiping  a  white  donkey. 
He  then  said  that  he  was  about  to  show  them  a  copy  of 
this  particular  picture,  and  that  they  would  observe  that 
while  it  represented  a  donkey  nailed  to  a  cross,  yet  it 
was  proof  positive  that  in  the  very  palace  of  Claudius 
the  crucified  Savior  was  adored.  All  this  was  done  with 
the  greatest  care,  and  when  the  chart  upon  which  the 
picture  had  been  reproduced  was  exhibited  the  audi- 
ence was  solemnized  to  the  last  degree.  It  represented 
a  man  with  the  head  of  a  donkey  stretched  upon  a  cross. 
One  of  the  young  pages  of  Claudius  appears  before  it, 
his  hands  raised  in  the  attitude  of  adoration,  and  be- 
neath it  are  scratched  the  words  "AAc|a/itvos  aefSere  ©cov" 
— "Alexaminos  worships  his  God."  Such  an  illustration 
as  this  must  be  very  carefully  prepared  in  advance,  but 
it  is  evident  that  it  will  minister  some  stren^h  and 
beauty  to  all  which  the  minister  may  offer  in  connection 
with  it. 

III.  In  order  to  the  preparation  of  such  illustrations 


THE  ILLUSTRATED  SERMON  445 

certain  materials  may  be  suggested  as  the  most  suitable 
to  be  employed.  The  paper  should  be  that  which  is 
known  as  "detail  paper."  It  is  usually  cream  colored, 
heavy,  and  tough,  so  that  it  is  not  easily  torn.  It  has 
the  qiiality  of  what  is  known  as  "laid"  paper,  that  is  to 
say  there  is  no  gloss  to  it,  by  which  the  light  is  objection- 
ably reflected.  It  comes  in  large  rolls  of  various  widths. 
The  preacher  can  obtain  it  of  such  a  width  as  suits  his 
purpose.  If  paper  is  employed  which  comes  only  in 
sheets  it  must  be  pasted  together  both  horizontally  and 
perpendicularly.  On  this  account  it  will  not  roll  well, 
but  will  buckle  and  wrinkle.  Detail  paper  may  be  cut 
to  any  desired  length  and  pasted  only  horizontally,  re- 
moving the  objections  of  which  we  have  spoken.  This 
paper  may  be  mounted  upon  a  large  spring  roller  such 
as  is  employed  in  hanging  shades  in  large  windows.  It 
should  be  so  prepared  as  that  it  may  be  easily  placed  in 
the  roller  or  removed  from  it.  The  roller  brackets  may 
be  fastened  permanently  in  a  suitable  place,  and  the  rol- 
ler taken  down  when  not  in  use.  After  the  chart  has 
been  prepared  and  placed  in  the  roller  it  is  rolled  up 
out  of  sight  and  may  be  drawn  down  when  desired. 

The  colors  to  be  employed  are  ordinary  fresco  colors. 
These  are  soluble  in  water  and  are  very  cheap.  They 
should  be  mixed  with  a  little  mucilage  or  glue  to  insure 
their  adherence  to  the  paper,  but  if  too  much  glue  be 
employed  the  color  will  flake  off.  A  number  of  paint 
brushes  of  different  sizes  should  be  procured,  one  of 
them  a  large,  flat  camel's  hair  brush  to  be  used  in  blend- 
ing the  colors  when  that  becomes  necessary.  If  the 
preacher  desires  to  prepare  a  picture  of  some  kind  this 
may  best  be  done  with  ordinary  charcoal  crayons,  as 
they  are  easily  brushed  off  the  paper  if  a  mistake  be 
made  in  the  drawing.     When  the  picture  is  complete 


446  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

the  charcoal  may  be  permanently  fastened  to  the  paper 
by  spraying  it  with  dilute  shellac.  Special  atomizers  for 
this  purpose  are  for  sale  at  all  artists'  material  stores. 

The  preacher  may  sometimes  use  the  blackboard  to 
great  advantage,  especially  when  he  desires  to  draw  his 
chart  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation.  He  should 
have  a  number  of  colored  crayons.  The  best  for  his 
purpose  are  known  as  "exhibitors'  crayons."  They  are 
square,  about  an  inch  in  diameter  and  three  inches  long, 
and  come  in  all  colors.  The  colors  are  not  to  be  em- 
ployed on  the  blackboard  for  the  sake  of  ornament,  but 
only  when  the  distinction  between  one  line  and  another 
is  to  be  observed.  If  the  preacher  finds  himself  very 
incapable  with  regard  to  this  work  he  may  procure  a 
pantograph  of  large  size,  with  arms  three  to  five  feet 
long.  The  salesman  will  show  him  how  to  use  it,  and 
by  its  means  a  very  complete  reproduction  of  the  pic- 
ture or  chart  which  he  desires  to  make  can  be  obtained, 
enlarged  to  any  desirable  size. 

With  regard,  however,  to  this  matter  of  visible  illus- 
tration it  should  be  said  that,  while  the  writer  has  con- 
sidered that  this  subject  should  be  included  in  this  work, 
it  can  not  be  thoroughly  taught  without  a  living  teacher. 
So  much  depends  upon  the  proper  handling  of  material, 
that  the  preacher  who  desires  to  become  proficient  in  such 
matters  should  not  rest  content  with  what  he  may  learn 
from  books,  but  should  seek  the  advice  and  assistance 
of  one  who  has  attained  success  in  this  work. 


SERMONS  IN  COURSES. 


SERMONS  IN  COURSES. 

"Series"  and  "Course." 

Special  value  in  systematic  instruction. 

I.  Requirements. 

1.  Unity  in  the  entire  course. 

2.  Positive  advance. 

3.  Each  sermon  complete  in  itself. 
Diagrams. 

II.  Subjects. 

One  course  related  to  another. 


VII. 

SERMONS  IN  COURSES. 

The  delivery  of  a  number  of  sermons  under  one  gen- 
eral title  is  commonly  known  as  "Serial  Preaching."  But 
we  should  distinguish  at  the  outset  between  a  "series" 
and  a  "course."  By  a  "series  of  sermons"  is  meant  a 
succession  of  sermons  upon  separate  themes,  in  mechan- 
ical order  and  with  a  very  loose  relation,  if  any,  to  each 
other.  By  a  "course  of  sermons"  is  meant  a  succession 
of  sermons  upon  one  comprehensive  subject,  in  logical 
order  and  with  an  intimate  relation  to  each  other. 

There  is  no  call  for  special  instruction  with  regard 
to  the  composition  of  a  "series."  Each  separate  sermon 
is  prepared  upon  the  principles  governing  single  sermon 
construction. 

But  the  construction  of  a  "course"  requires  special 
skill ;  because  in  addition  to  the  principles  governmg  the 
single  sermon,  there  are  others  which  govern  the  relation 
of  the  sermons  to  each  other,  their  distinct  character, 
their  combined  effects,  and  their  cumulative  influence. 

This  subject  has  received  next  to  no  consideration  by 
homiletical  authorities,  and  the  writer  is  unable  to  refer 
the  reader  to  more  than  a  few  scattered  and  unsatis- 
factory paragraphs. 

And  yet  it  is  a  subject  of  great  inportance.  If  the 
chief  element  in  sermonizing  is  instruction,  it  can  not 
be  adequately  supplied  by  a  succession  of  sermons  which 
have  no  connection  with  each  other,  in  which  the  preacher 

449 


450  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

passes  by  abrupt  transition  from  one  topic  to  another, 
and  in  which,  as  is  »ometimes  said,  the  one  "drives  out" 
the  other. 

Such  a  course  of  instruction  would  be  considered  the 
height  of  folly  in  a  secular  school.  Students  might 
thereby  come  into  the  possession  of  many  disjointed  facts ; 
but  they  would  acquire  no  genuine  knowledge  and  no 
real  discipline. 

Even  so  in  the  pulpit.  If  the  people  are  to  be  taught 
the  things  of  God  preaching  must  follow  a  plan.  The 
preacher,  even  when  he  does  not  formerly  announce  a 
course  of  sermons,  should  proceed  according  to  a  definite 
system,  and  frequently  be  engaged  in  what  is  really  a 
course  of  spiritual  instruction,  though  he  may  not  ad- 
vertise the  fact  in  any  way.  Such  a  course  may  be,  for 
example,  doctrinal.  Once  in  two  weeks,  let  us  say,  he 
will  deliver  a  sermon  upon  this  plan.  What  is  called 
"Theology,"  "Anthropology,"  "Soteriology,"  and  so  on 
will  be  taken  up  in  order.  It  will  be  of  great  advantage 
to  the  preacher  himself.  It  will  promote  careful  and  con- 
secutive study ;  it  will  enrich  his  own  mind  and  heart  and 
it  will  thereby  affect  favorably  all  his  other  preaching. 
It  will  also  be  of  great  advantage  to  his  people;  it  will 
sustain  their  interest;  suitably  indoctrinate  them;  and 
safeguard  them  against  many  evils  and  mistakes  into 
which  the  uninstructed  Christian  is  prone  to  fall. 

The  same  advantages  will  appear  in  connection  with 
formal  courses  of  sermons,  duly  announced  as  such.  It 
is  with  these  that  we  deal  particularly  in  the  present 
chapter. 

I.  What  is  required  in  order  to  the  construction  of 
a  course  of  sermons?  We  answer,  The  same  qualities 
in  the  course,  as  such,  which  should  obtain  in  a  separate 
and  $ing:le  sermon. 


SERMON  IN  COURSES  451 

1.  There  must  be  unity.  There  should  be  a  real  re- 
lation between  the  separate  subjects  and  between  them 
and  the  general  subject.  The  general  subject  must  be 
inclusive  of  the  separate  subjects.  The  discussion  of  the 
separate  subjects  must  be  kept  absolutely  subservient  to 
the  discussion  of  the  main  subject.  This  must  be  made 
clear  from  start  to  finish.  The  general  subject  must  ever 
be  given  the  greater  prominence.  It  has  been  chosen 
because  of  its  wider  range  and  more  comprehensive  char- 
acter, and  because  it  can  not  be  adequately  discussed  in 
a  single  sermon.  The  single  sermons  are  but  parts  of 
the  whole.  They  bear  the  same  relation  to  it  that  the 
divisions  of  a  separate  sermon  bear  to  its  subject.  There- 
fore they  must  have  the  same  character.  They  must  co- 
ordinate and  combine,  so  that,  when  completed  the  re- 
sult is  itself  a  single,  complete,  symmetrical  whole. 

2.  There  must  be  progress.  The  second  sermon  must 
be  a  positive  advance  upon  the  first,  and  so  on.  A 
broader,  better  view  of  the  general  subject  should  be 
obtained  with  each  successive  sermon.  If  it  is  not  so 
the  "course"  is  only  a  "series"  after  all,  and  there  is  no 
reason  in  it.  In  order  to  such  progress  there  must  be 
careful  prevision.  Anticipation  should  be  much  more 
carefully  guarded  than  in  the  composition  of  a  single 
sermon.  The  balance  of  thought  must  be  maintained — 
not  too  much  ground  in  this  sermon  and  too  little  in 
that.  There  should  be  an  eye  to  reserve — the  withhold- 
ing of  material  for  its  suitable  logical  place. 

And  yet  this  progress  must  be  of  a  peculiar  kind.  It 
is  not  that  something  is  added,  sermon  to  sermon;  more 
taught  and  advance  made ;  but 

3.  Each  separate  sermon  must  be  in  a  measure  com- 
plete in  itself.  It  is  part  of  a  whole,  yet  it  is  a  whole 
part.     As  in  a  wagon  the  wheel  is  only  a  part,  yet  the 


452 


VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 


wheel  is  a  complete  thing.  Do  not  show  it  with  the  tire 
lacking  or  some  of  the  spokes  missing.  He  who  hears 
but  one  of  the  sermons  of  a  course  should  carry  away  a 
distinct  idea  of  some  aspect  of  truth.  The  preacher  must 
finish  up  as  he  goes  on.  A  course  of  sermons  is  not  one 
long  sermon  divided  into  separate  portions  so  that  it  re- 
sembles a  serial  story  in  a  magazine — "To  be  continued 
in  our  next."  The  preacher  should  not  say  "We  arrest 
our  studies  at  this  point  and  continue  next  Sunday."  On 
the  contrary  he  finishes  this  sermon  to-night.  Next  Sun- 
day's sermon  will  be  found  to  include  it,  go  beyond  and 
also  finish ;  and  so  on  to  the  end. 

This  may  all  be  illustrated  by  means  of  diagrams : 


A  series  of  sermons. 


C    I     I     I     I     ) 


A  course  on  the  wrong  plan. 


A  course  on  the  right  plan. 


SERMON  IN  COURSES  453 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  construct  a  course  of  sermons 
possessing  these  qtialities.  The  difficulties  increase  with 
the  number  of  sermons,  and  in  almost  geometrical  pro- 
portion. It  is  twice  as  hard  to  prepare  a  course  of  two 
sermons  as  to  prepare  a  single  sermon.  But  it  is  four 
times  as  hard  to  prepare  a  course  of  four  sermons  as  a 
course  of  two.  The  adjustments  require  much  study. 
It  may  be  necessary  to  revise  the  plan  again  and  again ; 
but  the  course  should  not  be  announced  before  it  is  ma- 
tured, and  should  not  be  brought  into  the  pulpit  until 
the  sermons  have  all  been  fully  planned. 

II.  Subjects.  The  general  subjects  for  sermons  in 
courses  are  manifold.  They  correspond  closely  to  those 
which  we  have  considered.  They  may  be  narrative,  ex- 
pository, evangelistic,  and  so  on.  Only  they  should  not 
be  mixed.  This  would  be  to  destroy  the  unity  of  the 
course.  If  the  general  subject,  for  example,  be  narra- 
tive, let  the  course  be  narrative  throughout. 

A  course  of  sermons,  however,  furnishes  opportunity 
for  great  variety  within  these  bounds.  If  the  course  is 
narrative,  each  separate  sermon  may  proceed  along  its 
own  special  line  and  the  unity  of  the  entire  course  be 
all  the  more  emphatic  and  beautiful.  There  is  more  room 
for  analysis.  The  Bible  character  or  scene  employed 
may  be  viewed  from  different  sides  for  different  pur- 
poses. This  will  render  the  instruction  all  the  more  in- 
teresting and  complete. 

Take,  for  example,  a  course  upon  Nehemiah.  The 
preacher  might  proceed  on  the  lines  of  the  consecutive 
historical  events  and,  let  us  say,  announce  his  subjects 
as  follows:  I.  "The  Persian  Court."  11.  "Defenseless 
Jerusalem."  III.  "The  Rebuilding  of  the  Walls."  IV. 
"Ezra  and  the  Law."  V.  "The  Progress  of  Reform." 
This  would  be  instructive  and  profitable.    But  how  much 


454  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  SERMONS 

more  so  would  be  such  an  arrangement  of  subjects  as 
would  set  forth  the  distinctive  traits  in  the  character  of 
Nehemiah  and  his  peculiar  qualifications  for  his  great 
work,  as  follows :  I.  "Nehemiah's  Training  in  Adminis- 
trative Affairs."  11.  "Nehemiah's  Spiritual  Life."  (His 
frequent  prayers,  etc.)  III.  "Nehemiah  and  the  Law." 
IV.  "Nehemiah  and  the  Sabbath." 

There  are  many  other  general  subjects  which  may  be 
used.  The  distinct  epochs  in  religious  history.  Their 
relation  to  that  which  precedes  and  that  which  follows — 
causes,  influences,  outcome.  This  class  of  subjects  re- 
quires the  cultivation  of  a  true  historical  instinct;  be- 
cause history  is  not  the  mere  recital  of  successive  events. 
This  is  only  "Annals"  or  "Chronicles."  History  takes 
note  of  the  under  current,  the  controlling  principle,  the 
invincible  drift.  History  is  philosophy  in  the  concrete 
and  the  history  of  religion  is  philosophy  at  its  climax. 
That  preacher  who  is  a  true  historian  has  an  opportunity 
which  all  might  well  covet.  A  course  of  sermons  under 
his  hand  is  not  easily  surpassed  in  all  that  makes  for  the 
good  of  men  and  the  glory  of  God. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  proceed  further  in  this  line. 
Subjects  for  courses  may  be  of  any  kind  applicable  to 
single  sermons. 

These  various  courses  of  sermons  should  be  related 
to  each  other,  just  as  the  separate  parts  of  each  course 
are  so  related.  It  may  be  well  also  to  vary  them  by 
sometimes  introducing  courses  of  religious  "lectures,"  in 
which  certain  side-lights  may  be  introduced  or  history 
related  to  Bible  history  but  not  included  in  it.  For  ex- 
ample, a  course  on  Nehemiah  and  the  later  history  of 
the  Old  Testament  might  be  followed  by  a  course  of 
lectures  on  the  Maccabean  Period,  and  this  again  by  a 
course  of  sermons  on  the  Life  of  Christ. 


SERMON  IN  COURSES  455 

These  courses  should  not  be  confined  to  the  evening 
services;  but  sometimes  be  introduced  at  the  mornmg 
hour.  There  is  more  apt  to  be  lack  of  system  in  the 
morning  preaching  any  way.  The  skillful  preacher  may 
often  so  arrange  it  that  a  morning  course  may  admirably 
complement  an  evening  one. 


Date  Due 


